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THE  MEN’S  CLASS  IN  ACTION 


F.  HARVEY  MORSE 


I 


THE  MEN’S  CLASS 
IN  ACTION 

BY 

V 

F.  HARVEY  MORSE 

SUPERINTENDENT,  MAPLEWOOD  BAPTIST  SUNDAY  SCHOOL, 
ST.  LOUIS,  AND  ADULT  DIVISION  SUPERINTENDENT, 

ST.  LOUIS  COUNTY  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  ASSOCIATION 


ILLUSTRATED 
WITH  FORMS  AND  CHARTS 


GARDEN  CITY,  NEW  YORK. 

DOUBLEDAY,  DORAN  &  COMPANY,  INC. 

1928 


COPYRIGHT,  1923, 

BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


THE  MEN’S  CLASS  IN  ACTION.  II 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


TO  MY  WIFE 


IN  ACKNOWLEDGMENT  OF  HER 
SYMPATHETIC  COOPERATION 

THIS  VOLUME  IS 
AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 


PREFACE 


This  volume  was  planned  with  one  definite  pur¬ 
pose  in  mind — to  furnish  “first-aid”  to  all  officers 
of  the  organized  Men’s  Bible  Class. 

In  most  of  the  books  on  Adult  work  now  before 
Church  School  workers,  the  place  of  the  Teacher  is 
magnified — and  rightly  so.  Unfortunately,  while 
the  work  of  the  teacher  has  been  given  emphasis, 
that  of  the  other  class  officers  has  not  been  given 
the  attention  to  which  it  is  properly  entitled. 

Nine  of  the  fifteen  chapters  of  this  volume  are 
devoted  to  the  work  of  officers  other  than  the 
Teacher — men  upon  whom  the  responsibility  for  the 
continued  existence  of  the  class  depends.  The 
author  believes  that  every  class  office  is  important — 
otherwise  it  has  no  justification  for  being.  He  be¬ 
lieves  that  only  as  the  work  of  all  the  officers  is  em¬ 
phasized,  will  Christian  Churches  develop  that  lay 
leadership  through  which  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
will  be  transformed  into  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  in  this  volume  to  treat 
exhaustively  the  subject  of  Adult  Bible  Class  Peda¬ 
gogy — the  Teacher  of  the  Men’s  Class  is  referred 

to  the  splendid  treatments  contained  in  the  books 

•  • 

Vll 


viii  Preface 

suggested  in  the  Bibliography.  For  the  sake  of 
completeness,  the  work  of  the  Teacher  is  sum¬ 
marized  in  two  chapters  and  two  additional  chap¬ 
ters  are  devoted  to  the  subject  of  the  class  study 
course.  Even  in  these  chapters  the  writer’s  pur¬ 
pose  has  been  to  supplement  rather  than  to  duplicate 
the  work  of  previous  writers — to  add  certain  back¬ 
ground  material  essential  to  teaching  success. 

If  this  book  stimulates  a  greater  interest  in  the 
work  of  the  Organized  Bible  Class  among  men — if 
it  gives  the  officers  a  clearer  vision  of  the  mighty 
possibilities  of  the  Men’s  Class  movement — if  it 
motivates  them  to  such  action  as  will  truly  vitalize 
the  class — then  it  will  have  abundantly  justified  its 
existence. 

The  writer  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  the 
writers  of  the  works  listed  in  the  Bibliographies;  to 
Dr.  H.  E.  Tralle,  a  pioneer  of  higher  ideals  in  Adult 
Class  Work;  to  Chester  J.  Prince,  St.  Louis  Lay 
Adult  Specialist,  for  valuable  suggestions  incorpo¬ 
rated;  to  Howard  G.  Colwell,  for  ten  years  teacher 
of  the  Third  Baptist  Agoga  Class,  St.  Louis,  who 
most  nearly  fulfills  the  writer’s  ideals  for  the  Men’s 
Class  Teacher;  and  to  those  classes  that  have  so 
kindly  furnished  forms,  advertising,  etc.,  for  pur¬ 
pose  of  illustration. 

F.  Harvey  Morse. 

Maplewood ,  Missouri. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  Organizing  to  Serve  .  .  .  .  15 

II  Equipment . 33 

III  The  Class  Teacher . 41 

IV  The  Teacher  and  the  Class  ...  54 

V  Principles  of  Study  Course  Selection  69 

VI  Building  the  Study  Course  ...  79 

VII  Executive  Leadership  in  the  Class  .  100 

VIII  The  Class's  Spiritual  Service  .  .116 

IX  Bringing  in  the  Men  ....  130 

X  Holding  Them . 146 

XI  Class  Records . 156 

XII  Class  Finances . 169 

XIII  Developing  the  Social  Instincts  .  181 

XIV  What  the  Librarian  Does  .  .  .  199 

XV  Advertising  the  Class  ....  209 

Appendices 

a  addresses  you  need  to  know  .  .  237 

B  CONSTITUTION  AND  BY-LAWS  .  .  238 

C  A  STANDARD  OF  EXCELLENCE  .  .  245 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIGURE 

1  CLASS  INVITATION . 

2  VICE-PRESIDENT’S  PROSPECT  CARD  . 

3  CALL  REPORT  FOR  VISITOR  .... 

4  member’s  INDIVIDUAL  WEEKLY  REPORT 

5  SIX-POINT  CLASS  RECORD  CARD 

6  SECRETARY’S  PERMANENT  ATTENDANCE  RECORD 

7  ENROLLMENT  CARD . 

8  ILLUSTRATING  A  SIMPLE  SYSTEM  OF  CLASS 

ACCOUNTS . 

9  treasurer’s  INDIVIDUAL  COLLECTION  RECORD 

10  SUGGESTION  CARD  FOR  ENTERTAINER 

11  FRONT  PAGE  OF  A  CLASS  BULLETIN 

12  FRONT  COVER  OF  AN  EIGHT-PAGE  CLASS  PAPER 

13  AN  INSIDE  PAGE  FROM  AN  EIGHT-PAGE  CLASS 

PAPER  . 

14  ADVERTISING  HANGER  FOR  USE  IN  STORES 

AND  OTHER  PLACES  WHERE  MEN  CONGRE¬ 
GATE  . 

15  REPRINT  OF  A  SPECIAL  ADDRESS  USED  FOR  AD¬ 

VERTISING  THE  CLASS — ONE  WAY  FOR  A 
CLASS  TO  GIVE  “SAMPLES”  .... 

16  COVER  OF  AN  ADVERTISING  BOOKLET 


PAGE 

143 

144 

153 

158 

159 

160 
l62 

1 77 

178 
189 

215 

217 

221 

226 

227 

228 


XI 


xii  Illustrations 

FIGURE 

17  “tickler” — FIRST  OF  A  SERIES  OF  DIRECT 

MAIL  PIECES . 

18  SECOND  PIECE  OF  A  MAILING  SERIES 

19  THIRD  PIECE  OF  A  CLASS  CAMPAIGN 

20  FINAL  PIECE  OF  A  MAIL  CAMPAIGN 


PAGE 

230 

231 

233 

234 


THE  MEN’S  CLASS  IN  ACTION 


THE  MEN’S  CLASS 
IN  ACTION 


Chapter  One 

ORGANIZING  TO  SERVE 

i:  MEN  IN  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

BROADLY  speaking,  men  in  the  Sunday  School 
may  be  divided  into  three  classes — each  class 
demanding  distinctive  treatment. 

Young  Men 

First  there  are  the  younger  men — those  whose 
ages  range  from  eighteen  to  twenty-five — the  period 
of  latter  adolescence. 

“From  various  studies  it  seems  clear  that  there 
is  a  time  of  special  religious  interest  at  twenty. 
Less  than  one-sixth  of  the  conversions  studied  took 
place  after  twenty.  One-half  of  these,  again,  were 
before  twenty-five.  The  chances  are  a  thousand  to 
one  against  conversion  after  thirty/’ 1  The  impor- 

1  Weigle,  “The  Pupil,”  Chapter  VI. 

15 


16  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


tance  of  reaching  the  men  of  these  ages  with  vital, 
appealing  teaching  surely  must  be  apparent  to  all 
Christian  workers.  The  ideals  of  this  period,  and 
the  characteristic  instincts  which  show  themselves 
at  this  time,  call  for  distinct  types  of  management, 
teachings  and  activities,  if  the  young  men  are  to  be 
held  in  the  School. 

The  religion  of  this  period  is  a  concrete  religion 
— one  that  has  its  natural  outpouring  in  religious 
activity.  Unless  he  be  exceptional,  narrow  theories, 
tiresome  discussions  of  controversial  points  and  ob¬ 
scure  passages  of  scripture  have  no  interest  for  the 
young  man.  For  him  there  must  be  practical  teach¬ 
ings  of  Christian  living — teachings  that  apply  to  the 
problems  confronting  him  daily. 

How  is  my  religion  going  to  help  me  in  my  daily 
work?  What  bearing  has  it  on  my  recreations? 
What  relation  to  the  choice  of  companions  and 
friends?  Does  it  play  a  part  in  the  selection  of  a 
life  partner  and  the  building  of  a  Christian  home? 
Has  religion  a  place  in  the  modern  industrial,  social 
and  political  order?  These  are  the  questions  that 
he  asks  and  by  which  he  tests  his  religion. 

In  winning  and  holding  the  young  man,  the  Sun¬ 
day  School  must  be  guided  by  the  psychological 
characteristics  of  the  period.  It  must  see  the 
flowering  social-sex  instincts;  it  must  use  the  natu¬ 
ral  groupings  taking  place  among  its  young  men; 


17 


Organizing  to  Serve 

it  must  take  advantage  of  the  natural  interest  in 
organizations,  by  giving  him  the  right  sort  of  or¬ 
ganization  in  the  Sunday  Schools;  it  must  recog¬ 
nize  the  developing  traits  of  leadership  and  direct 
them  into  fields  of  service. 

Early  Maturity 

In  the  second  place  there  are  the  men  of  early 
maturity — those  from  twenty-six  to  thirty-five.  In 
this  group  are  found  a  large  number  of  young  mar¬ 
ried  men,  who  because  of  greater  home  responsi¬ 
bilities  are  unable  to  carry  on  the  elaborate  activities 
of  the  younger  men.  On  the  whole  the  men  are 
more  settled — their  viewpoints  are  more  mature — 
responsibility  has  stabilized  life  and  character.  The 
practical  application  of  Christianity  to  modern  prob¬ 
lems  appeals  strongly  to  these  men,  who  in  many 
cases  are  just  on  the  threshold  of  business  success. 
For  best  results,  men  between  these  ages  should  be 
grouped  in  a  class  by  themselves. 

Later  Maturity 

Third,  come  the  men  of  full  maturity — those 
thirty-six  and  over.  This  group  includes  those  men 
who  have  already  achieved  a  certain  amount  of 
business  and  social  success.  During  these  later 
years  social  Christianity  still  has  its  appeal,  but  there 
is  also  a  growth  of  interest  among  many,  in  Bible 


18  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

doctrines  and  the  more  abstract  discussions  of 
Biblical  theology. 

The  small  school  should,  if  possible,  have  adult 
classes  graded  by  these  three  divisions  at  least.  If 
only  two  classes  may  be  had,  better  unite  the  ages 
from  twenty-five  and  up,  giving  the  men  from 
eighteen  to  twenty-five  a  separate  organization.  Of 
course  in  larger  schools  it  is  possible  to  sub-divide 
the  several  groups  on  a  basis  of  education,  occupa¬ 
tion,  and  religious  interest — and  it’s  very  desirable 
that  this  be  done. 

II :  APPEALING  TO  MEN  THROUGH  ORGANIZATION 

As  the  boy  enters  the  period  of  latter  adolescence, 
he  becomes  conscious  that  organization  exists  every¬ 
where — in  the  home,  in  the  high  school  and  college, 
in  the  social  order,  in  business,  in  the  great  political 
parties,  in  the  fraternal  orders  and  in  religion.  He 
feels  within  himself  the  surge  of  a  dynamic  that 
assures  him  that  he,  too,  is  capable  of  doing  great 
things.  He  wants  to  have  some  part  in  the  work 
of  the  Church  and  Sunday  School — not  be  merely 
a  passive  on-looker.  As  he  develops  in  business  he 
will  respect  more  and  more  the  church  which  adopts 
business  methods  in  its  work.  If  the  church  and 
school  will  but  recognize  this  potential  force,  har¬ 
ness  it  early  and  keep  it  harnessed  by  means 


Organizing  to  Serve  19 

of  class  organization  the  problem  of  getting  and 
holding  men  will  cease  to  be  a  problem.  Organiza¬ 
tion,  while  not  a  panacea  for  all  ills,  is  a  substan¬ 
tial  foundation  upon  which  may  be  built  a  sound 
structure  that  will  be  of  inestimable  value  to  the 
School,  the  Church,  the  community  and  the  King¬ 
dom. 

Characteristics  of  Organization 1 

An  organization  usually  has  a  small  beginning . 
Christ  started  Christianity  that  way.  The  fact  that 
only  a  few  men  are  interested  in  an  organized  Bible 
Class  should  deter  no  one  from  starting  such  a  class. 
No  class  need  remain  small  for  long. 

An  organization  needs  care  and  nurture  in  the 
beginning.  So  does  the  men’s  Bible  Class.  The 
manner  of  cultivating  the  young,  delicate  religious 
plant  will  be  outlined  in  later  chapters. 

The  element  of  time  must  be  considered — large 
organizations  are  not  built  in  a  day.  Patience  is 
an  essential  in  building  the  men’s  Bible  Class — on 
the  part  of  the  teacher  in  planning  how  best  to 
appeal  to  the  members,  and  on  the  part  of  members 
who  look  for  rapid  growth. 

Organizations  go  from  the  simple  to  the  complex, 
as  they  strive  to  accommodate  themselves  to  their 

1  For  the  basis  of  this  statement  regarding  organization, 
and  the  one  on  page  74,  “Balancing  the  Course,”  the  author 
is  indebted  to  Mr.  C.  J.  Prince,  Adult  Specialist,  St.  Louis. 


20  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


environment.  As  the  class  grows  in  health  and 
strength  by  meeting  local  conditions  its  organization 
is  necessarily  expanded. 

The  value  of  the  organization  to  the  individual 
lies  in  the  spirit  of  interdependence  developed. 
Paul  shows  the  value  of  this  characteristic  in  his 
wonderful  discourse  on  the  relation  of  the  parts  of 
the  body  (I  Cor.  12)  ;  Christ  emphasizes  it  in  His 
picture  of  the  vine  and  its  branches  (John  15  :  1-8). 
Cooperation  among  members  induces  smoothness  of 
action;  if  it  is  lacking  an  organization  soon  ceases 
to  function. 

The  common  fate  of  organization  is  death,  yet 
through  death  the  living  plant  is  reproduced  to 
flower  more  beautifully.  The  test  of  the  organized 
Bible  Class  is  that  it  is  dying  weekly,  as  its  members 
go  out  into  the  larger  work  of  the  church  and 
community.  But  through  death  comes  new  life. 

The  Value  of  Class  Organization 

Successful  business  is  built  upon  a  basis  of  proper 
organization;  so,  too,  is  the  successful  Bible  Class. 
Organization  is  conducive  to  class  growth — the  his¬ 
tory  of  classes  in  all  sections  is  proof  of  this  state¬ 
ment.  The  invitation  of  a  teacher  may  secure 
members  for  the  class,  but  systematic  efforts  of  the 
members  themselves  secure  maximum  results.  Men 
can  usually  reach  other  men  when  all  efforts  of 


21 


Organizing  to  Serve 

teacher  and  Pastor  have  failed.  Organized  co¬ 
operative  recruiting  methods  are  much  more  effec¬ 
tive  than  haphazard  individual  endeavor.  The 
properly  organized  class  must  grow! 

The  organized  class  is  a  permanent  class.  The 
class  that  is  held  together  by  the  personality  of  a 
teacher  or  by  some  force  outside  of  the  class  itself, 
will  very  likely  cease  to  exist  if  the  attracting  forces 
are  removed.  The  organized  class  has  taken  upon 
its  own  shoulders  the  responsibility  for  its  continued 
existence.  Time  and  again  classes  losing  their 
teachers  have  either  secured  new  teachers  or  fur¬ 
nished  them  from  the  ranks  of  the  class  itself — 
striking  evidence  that  the  class  organization  is  more 
than  a  meaningless  form  and  that  the  class  is  ac¬ 
tually  training  for  broader  service.  The  organized 
class  develops,  through  its  efforts  to  attain  an  end, 
class  loyalty  and  a  class  spirit  which  serves  as  an 
incentive  to  greater  activity. 

The  organized  class  provides  work  for  every 
member,  and  yet  the  work  is  so  evenly  distributed 
that  there  is  no  burden  upon  any  individual.  At 
the  same  time  the  men’s  interest  is  being  held  be¬ 
cause  they  have  a  definite  responsibility  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  class  work.  The  organized  class  pro¬ 
vides  a  definite  aim  toward  which  all  the  members 
may  work.  It  gathers  the  scattered,  latent  forces  ex¬ 
isting  in  its  membership  and  molds  them  into  a  com- 


22  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


munity  force  for  good.  Unity  of  purpose  and  effort 
results  in  a  spiritual  and  social  cohesion  that  would 
be  otherwise  impossible. 

Through  the  organized  class  the  social  needs  of 
the  men  of  the  school,  church  and  community  may 
be  met.  Opportunity  for  social  expression  is  fur¬ 
nished  through  the  medium  of  social  evenings, 
group  meetings,  athletics  and  the  like. 

The  men’s  class  is  not  usually  organized  spe¬ 
cifically  as  a  teacher  training  class,  yet  the  training 
received  does  serve  the  men  as  a  foundation  when 
entering  upon  the  larger  work  of  the  Church  and  the 
school.  In  many  churches  practically  all  the  Sun¬ 
day  School  officers,  and  a  large  number  of  Church 
officers,  are  graduates  of  the  men’s  classes. 


Ill:  FORM  OF  ORGANIZATION 

1 'Departmental  or  Committee  Plan  f 

Standing  committees  usually  stand  and  that’s  all. 
Experience  has  demonstrated  beyond  question  the 
superiority  of  the  Departmental  Plan  of  class  or¬ 
ganization,  by  which  the  responsibility  for  the  work 
of  a  department  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  an 
individual.  Dr.  P.  E.  Burroughs  states  succinctly 
the  distinct  practical  advantages  of  this  form : 1 

1 P.  E.  Burroughs,  “The  Present  Day  Sunday  School,” 
page  178. 


Organizing  to  Serve  23 

“i.  This  plan  has  the  advantage  of  simplicity. 
There  is  a  single  line  of  assignment  instead  of  a 
double  line.  This  is  especially  advantageous  in 
small  classes. 

“2.  It  has  the  advantage  of  definiteness.  In  all 
cases  one  individual  is  held  responsible  for  assigned 
duties. 

“3.  It  is  flexible.  If  the  class  is  large,  and  its 
work  intricate  and  varied,  the  number  of  officers 
may  be  increased  and  each  officer  may  utilize  other 
members  as  needed.” 

Organization  Outline 

The  work  of  the  class  is  divided  into  departments, 
each  under  the  direction  of  an  officer.  The  follow¬ 
ing  scheme  of  organization  is  one  used  by  many 
classes  with  excellent  results — all  phases  of  class 
work  are  thoroughly  covered.1 


The  teacher  has  charge  of  the  teaching; 

The  president  is  the  executive  head  of  the  class 
and  its  spiritual  leader ; 

The  vice  president  is  the  class  recruiting  officer 
— he  secures  the  new  members ; 

The  secretary  keeps  the  class  records  and  at¬ 
tends  to  business  correspondence; 


1  This  scheme  of  organization  was  originated  by  Dr.  H.  E. 
Tralle,  Sunday  School  Specialist.  The  first  class  of  this  type 
was  organized  in  1905  at  Third  Baptist  Church,  St.  Louis,  and 
is  still  active. 


24  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

The  treasurer  handles  the  class  finances ; 

The  visitor  looks  after  the  absentees — keeps  the 
members  coming; 

The  entertainer  ministers  to  the  social  needs  of 
the  class ; 

The  librarian  encourages  the  art  of  good  read¬ 
ing; 

The  reporter  is  the  class  publicity  man. 


These  officers  constitute  the  class  executive  board. 
The  individual  duties  of  the  several  officers  are  dis¬ 
cussed  fully  in  subsequent  chapters.  It  is  not  at  all 
essential  that  the  class  work  be  divided  exactly  as 
above  indicated,  nor  that  the  same  names  be  used 
for  the  officers.  Some  classes,  for  example,  desig¬ 
nate  a  first,  second  and  third  Vice  President  to  care 
for  the  work  of  enlargement,  fellowship,  and  the 
religious  activities,  respectively. 

If  a  class  is  starting  with  but  few  members,  fewer 
officers  will  be  needed  to  care  for  its  work.  One 
class  of  busy  men  organized  with  a  Teacher,  a 
President  in  charge  of  executive  and  social  work,  a 
Vice  President  in  charge  of  membership  and  a  Sec¬ 
retary-Treasurer  who  also  handled  the  publicity. 
Naturally,  as  the  class  grows,  officers  will  be  added 
until  a  full  corps  are  at  work.  The  point  to  be  kept 
in  mind  at  all  times  is  to  have  one  responsible  head 
of  every  department  of  work  in  which  the  class  is 
engaged. 


Organizing  to  Serve 


25 


Assistants 

The  departmental  plan  of  organization  assures  the 
development  of  executive  ability.  No  departmental 
head  is  ever  expected  to  actually  do  all  the  work  of 
his  department.  He  is  rather  the  planner-in-chief. 
Emphasis  is  placed  on  the  importance  of  giving 
every  man  work  to  do — and  holding  him  responsible 
for  it.  The  department  heads  therefore  appoint, 
from  the  men  not  elected  to  office,  assistants  to 
handle  specific  phases  of  the  departmental  activities. 
These  assistants,  being  held  responsible  for  the  exe¬ 
cution  of  definite  work,  receive  valuable  experience 
which  develops  their  abilities  and  trains  them  to 
become  class  officers  later.  Give  a  man  a  real  job 
to  challenge  his  ability  and  the  class  has  a  strong 
hold  on  that  man. 

Maintaining  Age  Limits 

All  men’s  classes,  regardless  of  name  or  plan  of 
organization,  should  adhere  to  the  age  limits  set  out 
at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter.  The  class  should 
be  gaining  and  losing  all  the  time — gaining  young 
men  from  promotions  within  the  school  and  by  re¬ 
cruiting  from  the  community — losing  the  older  men 
to  positions  of  service  in  the  school  and  church,  and 
by  promotions  into  the  older  classes.  It  is  only 
when  every  effort  is  made  to  maintain  proper  age 
limits  that  best  work  can  be  done. 


26  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


Frequently  it  happens  that  proper  effort  is  not 
made  to  build  from  the  bottom  with  young  blood, 
as  the  members  grow  old.  The  result  is  that  the 
class  itself  grows  old — possibly  half  of  the  members 
may  be  older  than  the  top  age  limit.  In  such  cases 
it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  try  to  build  from  the 
bottom.  The  younger  men  have  not  the  interest 
that  they  would  have  were  all  the  members  their 
own  ages — the  older  men  find  that  it  is  virtually 
impossible  for  them  to  bring  in  the  younger. 
Drastic  measures  will  then  be  necessary  to  instill 
new  life  into  the  organization. 

Two  such  cases  have  recently  come  to  this  writer’s 
attention.  In  one  case  the  class  numbered  nearly 
three  hundred  members  and  had  an  average  attend¬ 
ance  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five.  Of  this 
membership,  possibly  one  hundred  were  older  than 
thirty  years,  while  the  youngest  members  were 
eighteen.  Under  the  leadership  of  a  tactful  Sunday 
School  Superintendent  the  older  men  withdrew 
from  the  class  and  organized  the  Business  Men’s 
Class.  The  two  classes  were  then  able  to  build 
much  more  successfully  than  if  they  had  continued 
to  work  in  the  same  class. 

The  other  class  had  a  membership  of  thirty,  of 
which  only  three  or  four  were  under  twenty-five 
years  of  age.  There  was  in  the  same  school  a 
Senior  class  composed  of  eighteen  year  old  boys. 


27 


Organizing  to  Serve 

In  this  case  the  younger  men  were  promoted  to  the 
older  class.  The  older  members  of  the  class  then 
withdrew  and  organized  an  Alumni  Class,  thus  con¬ 
tinuing  for  them  the  sentiment  connected  with  a 
previous  ten  years’  existence. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  try  to  promote  an  entire  younger 
class  into  a  class  where  the  majority  of  the  mem¬ 
bers  are  considerably  older  than  those  promoted. 
The  younger  members  will  lose  interest  and  finally 
the  class  and  school  will  lose  the  young  men.  Pro¬ 
motions  should  be  regular  from  the  younger  class 
into  the  older — each  year  at  the  regular  promotion 
day.  Then  the  class  membership  will  always  be 
congenial. 

Relation  to  the  Sunday  School 

The  men’s  class,  as  are  all  other  classes,  is  an 
integral  part  of  the  School.  The  class  should,  if 
possible,  meet  with  the  school  or  the  department  of 
which  it  is  a  part,  for  either  the  opening  or  closing 
worship  period — and  it  is  usually  always  possible. 
The  opening  period  will  almost  always  be  found 
more  convenient  for  the  class. 

When  the  class  does  not  meet  with  the  school  it 
is  very  easy  for  the  members  to  forget  that  it  is 
part  of  a  larger  organization.  That  feeling  shows 
itself  by  the  attitude  of  members  toward  matters 
of  interest  to  the  whole  school.  For  instance,  in 


28  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


one  such  class  there  were  a  number  of  members  who 
could  not  understand  why  any  of  the  Sunday  morn¬ 
ing  offerings  should  go  to  the  school.  This  class 
was  already  keeping  the  collections  of  alternate  Sun¬ 
days,  through  a  special  arrangement  by  which  the 
class  purchased  its  own  supplies.  Such  an  arrange¬ 
ment  is  never  a  good  one.  It  always  tends  to  make 
the  class  feel  independent  of  the  parent  body. 

On  the  other  hand  the  School  has  its  obligation 
to  the  class.  The  Church  and  School  should  recog¬ 
nize  that  the  men’s  class,  because  of  its  maturity, 
is  entitled  to  greater  liberty  of  action  than  the 
younger  classes.  The  class  should  be  allowed  a 
longer  time  for  its  lesson,  which  means  that  the 
members  should  not  be  expected  to  attend  the  clos¬ 
ing  worship,  if  they  attend  the  opening  services. 
The  class  teacher  should  not  be  selected  without  con¬ 
sulting  the  desires  of  the  class ;  and  the  study  course 
should  be  one  built  by  class  representatives  in  con¬ 
junction  with  the  School’s  educational  committee. 

The  School  should  also  be  careful  not  to  “bleed” 
the  class  of  its  growing  members.  In  most  schools 
it  is  the  custom  of  the  Superintendent  in  search  of 
teachers,  to  go  to  the  adult  classes  for  both  substi¬ 
tutes  and  regular  workers.  If  the  matter  is  not 
watched  it  is  easy  to  take  away  so  many  of  the  lead¬ 
ing  workers  as  to  cripple  the  class  work  of  several 
years.  The  greatest  danger  is  in  smaller  classes — 


Organizing  to  Serve  29 

the  school  must  not  reduce  the  class  working  force 
below  the  limit  of  safety. 

Organized  Class  Aims 

The  purpose  of  the  class  should  be  to  develop  the 
all-round  Christian  man,  through  Bible  study  and 
the  vitalizing  of  Bible  teaching  in  the  lives  of  the 
members.  Its  ultimate  purpose  is  to  win  men  to 
Christ,  and  to  help  them  live  the  Christ  life. 

While  social  plans  are  essential  to  successful  class 
work,  the  men’s  class  is  not  a  social  club.  It  is 
not  an  athletic  club,  although  athletics  are  spon¬ 
sored. 

The  class  is  primarily  a  Bible  class  and  this  pur¬ 
pose  should  not  be  eclipsed  by  less  important  affairs. 
How  often  do  we  find  classes  that  are  willing  to 
spend  a  hundred  dollars  to  place  baseball  teams  in 
the  field,  but  cannot  raise  ten  dollars  for  missions? 
Such  classes,  it  is  to  be  feared,  have  failed  to  grasp 
the  responsibility  given  them. 

IV :  HOW  TO  ORGANIZE 

Organize  Existing  Classes 

This  is  the  simplest  way  of  forming  a  class  or¬ 
ganization.  The  benefits  of  organization  should  be 
explained  to  the  class  members,  literature  dis¬ 
tributed  and  an  enthusiasm  for  organization  created. 


30  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


It  is  well  to  seek  the  cooperation  of  the  Pastor  and 
the  Sunday  School  Superintendent.  This  method 
gives  a  nucleus  on  which  a  strong  class  can  be  built. 

Organizing  a  New  Class 

First,  interest  some  few  men  who  can  see  the  need 
of  an  organized  Bible  Class  and  build  around  these 
key  men.  Aim  to  interest  others  than  personal 
friends — men  from  all  walks  of  life.  Distribute 
literature  freely  to  those  whom  you  are  trying  to 
interest.  Advertise  the  purpose  of  the  proposed 
class.  Set  a  date  for  organization,  and  a  date,  per¬ 
haps  a  month  later,  at  which  the  privilege  of  be¬ 
coming  a  charter  member  will  cease.  It  is  a  good 
plan  to  have  a  reception  for  the  young  men  of  the 
community,  a  week  or  so  before  the  date  set  for 
organization.  At  the  time  of  organizing,  full  de¬ 
tails  should  again  be  given  to  those  attending.  The 
plan  of  work,  and  the  place  of  the  officers  should 
be  thoroughly  explained.  Then  a  temporary  organi¬ 
zation  may  be  formed,  a  temporary  set  of  necessary 
officers  elected,  and  a  constitutional  committee  ap¬ 
pointed  to  draft  a  Constitution  and  By-Laws  suited 
to  the  particular  needs  of  the  class.  Permanent  or¬ 
ganization  may  be  perfected  after  the  report  of  the 
Constitutional  committee.  The  work  of  the  class 
as  a  Bible  Class  should  start  at  once.  Every  or¬ 
ganized  class  should  register  with  its  denomina- 


Organizing  to  Serve  31 

tional  Sunday  School  Board  and  receive  such  help 
as  may  be  offered — application  blanks  are  furnished 
by  the  boards.  Remember  that  numbers  at  the  start 
do  not  matter  if  the  aim  is  to  grow. 

v:  CONCLUSION 

No  matter  how  fine  the  machine  and  its  fittings, 
nothing  will  be  accomplished  if  there  is  no  gas  in 
the  tank,  and  no  one  behind  the  wheel.  No  men’s 
class  will  run  on  the  momentum  of  the  first  meet¬ 
ings — there  must  be  fuel — continued  enthusiasm, 
cooperation  and  a  prayer  spirit.  One  man  can’t 
make  a  class,  but  a  capable  leader  will  get  the  best 
out  of  all  the  members.  The  class  does  not  have 
to  be  a  large  class  to  succeed.  Given  gas  and  a 
chauffeur,  the  Ford  will  often  do  the  work  better 
than  a  Packard  and  at  less  expenditure  of  energy. 
No  plan  of  organization  will  work  itself,  but  this 
departmental  plan  when  worked  brings  results  and 
makes  the  class  a  force  for  Christianity  in  the 
community. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Strickland,  “The  Class  Officers  and  Their  Work”: 
(Free  Leaflet  from  Sunday  School  Board — Southern 
Baptist  Convention). 

Adult  B.  C.  Organization — Leaflet  International  S.  S. 
Council. 


32  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


Wood,  “Adult  Class  Study,”  Chapter  I. 

Strickland  &  McGlothlin,  “Building  the  Bible  Class.” 

First  Division,  Chapters  I,  II,  III,  IV,  V. 

Second  Division,  Chapters  I,  II,  III,  IV. 

Barclay,  “Adult  Worker  and  His  Work,”  Chapters  I, 
II,  III,  XX. 

Wells,  “The  Ideal  Adult  Class  in  the  Sunday  School,” 
Chapters  V,  VI,  XII. 

Blick,  “The  Adult  Department,”  Chapters  I,  II,  III, 
IV,  V,  XII,  XIII. 

Bovard,  “Adults  in  the  Sunday  School,”  Chapters  I, 
II,  III,  IV. 

Pearce,  “The  O.  A.  B.  C.”  Chapters  I,  II,  III,  IV,  V. 

Cope,  “The  Efficient  Layman.” 

Bomberger,  “The  Why  and  How  of  the  O.  A.  B.  C.” 

Richardson,  “The  Religious  Education  of  Adoles¬ 
cents,”  Chapter  XI. 


Chapter  Two 


EQUIPMENT 

i:  CLASS  ROOM 

GOOD  equipment  is  needed  if  the  men’s  class 
is  to  do  its  best  work.  A  class  room  is  the 
first  and  by  far  the  most  essential  requisite.  A 
class  cannot  have  the  most  effective  teaching  nor 
free  discussions  if  forced  to  conduct  its  sessions  in 
a  main  assembly  room  with  a  number  of  other 
classes.  The  progressive  class  is  not  satisfied  until 
it  has  secured  the  degree  of  privacy  necessary  for 
class  efficiency.  A  men’s  class  can  almost  always 
find  ways  of  securing  at  least  partial  separation 
from  the  rest  of  the  school. 

One  class  of  men  resorted  to  screens  as  the  best 
available  means  to  secure  separation — and  they  were 
quite  effective  in  at  least  keeping  the  eyes  from  wan¬ 
dering  to  all  parts  of  the  room,  and  did  shut  out 
some  noise.  In  another  case  two  men’s  classes  met 
in  one  room  with  screen  division  walls.  Another 
class  found  that  the  section  of  the  room  behind  the 
piano  was  suitable  for  class  purposes.  Frequently 
classes  secure  the  use  of  a  room  in  a  residence,  or 

office  near  the  church  building.  Classes  have  been 

33 


34  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


known  to  erect  tents  for  their  use  during  the  more 
pleasant  weather.  Some  of  the  larger  men’s  classes 
have  even  erected  separate  buildings  for  their 
organizations,  which  had  outgrown  the  quarters 
allotted  to  them  in  the  Sunday  School  building.  It 
is  usually  always  possible  to  find  some  way  of  im¬ 
proving  undesirable  class  room  conditions. 

When  a  class  room  has  been  secured,  it  should 
be  kept  free  from  unnecessary  interruptions.  A 
certain  class  had  a  room  so  located  that  any  one 
wishing  to  go  to  the  Junior  Department  had  to  pass 
through  the  class  room  and  down  an  uncarpeted 
stairway  located  in  it.  Often  several  boys  at  a  time 
would  find  it  necessary  (?)  to  take  that  path  at 
intervals  during  the  course  of  the  Sunday  lesson. 
The  same  room  also  contained  a  water  cooler  for 
use  of  the  whole  school.  Needless  to  say  that  the 
teacher  was  annoyed  and  the  teaching  of  but  little 
effect.  Such  conditions  should  not  be  tolerated  for 
a  moment.  A  frank  talk  with  the  Superintendent 
will  usually  result  in  improvement  of  conditions. 


II  :  CLASS  ROOM  FURNISHINGS 

A  class  room  containing  nothing  more  than 
enough  chairs  for  the  members  is  much  better  than 
no  class  room.  However,  the  meetings  will  be  more 
enjoyable  and  interest  will  be  greater  if  some  effort 


Equipment  35 

is  put  forth  to  make  the  room  comfortable  and 
home-like. 

The  first  addition  to  the  class  room  furnishings 
should  be  a  rug  or  carpet.  The  appearance  of  a 
room  will  be  entirely  changed  by  the  addition  of 
even  a  moderately  priced  rug.  Not  only  that,  but 
the  added  quiet  will  contribute  greatly  toward  a 
worshipful  atmosphere. 

Good  pictures  should  be  used  as  liberally  as  the 
finances  of  the  class  will  allow.  Reproductions  of 
the  best  art  of  the  world  is  now  available  at  low 
cost.  A  few  framed  Perry  Pictures,  Copley  or 
Medici  prints 1  add  wonderfully  to  the  attractiveness 
of  the  class  room.  Photographs  taken  by  class 
members  on  outings  and  group  pictures  of  the  class 
have  an  added  interest  because  of  the  personal 
associations. 

A  small  table  should  be  provided  for  the  use  of 
the  presiding  officer  or  teacher.  The  Secretary 
needs  a  desk  and  the  necessary  card  index  trays, 
to  enable  him  to  keep  complete  permanent  records. 


Ill !  TEACHING  EQUIPMENT 

The  first  item  under  this  head  is  of  course  a  num¬ 
ber  of  American  Standard  Revised  Bibles.  There 

1  For  catalogue  write  Perry  Picture  Co.,  Malden,  Mass. ; 
Curtis  &  Cameron,  Boston. 


36  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


should  be  enough  for  all  those  attending,  as  the  men 
of  to-day  seldom  carry  their  own  Bibles.  The  dis¬ 
tinctive  class  appearance  will  be  maintained  if  the 
class  emblem  is  stamped  on  the  cover. 

Every  Teacher  longs  for  a  good  blackboard,  one 
on  which  he  can  write .  Not  only  is  it  a  valuable 
teaching  accessory,  but  it  may  be  made  useful  for 
posting  notices,  reports,  etc. 

The  importance  of  the  geographical  background 
of  Biblical  history  has  long  been  recognized  by  lead¬ 
ing  Sunday  School  workers.  The  class  should  have 
a  set  of  good  maps  for  use  in  supplementing  the 
lessons.  As  a  minimum  the  following  are  sug¬ 
gested,  in  the  order  named : 

1.  Palestine — New  Testament 

2.  Palestine — Old  Testament 

3.  Paul’s  Missionary  Journeys 

4.  Old  Testament  Bible  Lands 

5.  Denominational  Missionary  Map 

6.  Inter-denominational  World  Missionary  Map. 
Special  missionary  maps  may  also  be  purchased 
for  a  few  cents  and  used  in  connection  with  mis¬ 
sion  studies  of  individual  fields. 

Stereopticon — Stereoscope 

Any  class  will  find  the  purchase  of  a  stereopticon 
to  be  a  splendid  investment.  Such  an  instrument  is 
invaluable  for  use  in  connection  with  study  courses 


Equipment  37 

— missions,  church  history,  Biblical  geography,  so¬ 
cial  service,  etc.  It  may  be  used  for  special  day 
programs  at  Christmas,  Thanksgiving,  patriotic 
days — given  for  the  entire  school  or  church.  It  is 
a  means  of  bringing  the  work  of  the  class  before 
the  church  and  community  by  public,  illustrated 
lectures.  A  class  and  its  church  and  school  will 
miss  many  opportunities  for  service  if  such  an  in¬ 
strument  is  not  available.  A  stereoscope  may  also 
be  made  a  valuable  aid  to  those  in  charge  of  the 
social  affairs  of  the  class. 

Slides  for  use  with  the  various  types  of  lessons 
are  easily  secured.  Most  public  schools  have  col¬ 
lections  which  can  be  borrowed;  the  State  Univer¬ 
sities  usually  have  extensive  collections  which  may 
be  had  by  simply  paying  transportation  charges. 
Many  public  libraries  have  collections  for  the  use 
of  their  patrons.  The  denominational  mission 
boards  have  slides  illustrating  all  the  fields  in  which 
they  work,  which  are  rented  at  a  nominal  charge  of 
one  or  two  dollars.  Slides  may  also  be  rented  from 
commercial  bureaus  of  which  may  be  mentioned  the 
following : 

Keystone  View  Co.,  Meadville,  Pa. 

Erker  Brothers,  St.  Louis. 

Standard  Slide  Corporation,  New  York  City. 

Victor  Animatograph  Co.,  Davenport,  Iowa. 

It  is  easily  possible  for  class  members  to  prepare 


38  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


many  slides  themselves,  using  members’  camera  pic¬ 
tures,  cartoons,  sketches,  etc.,  as  a  basis.  If  the 
funds  are  sufficient,  certain  slides  may  be  purchased 
and  used  by  the  class  and  church. 

Duplicating  Machine 

Uses  galore  for  a  duplicating  machine,  such  as  the 
Mimeograph  or  Hectograph,  will  be  found  in  class 
work — producing  special  forms  for  class  records, 
circular  letters  in  building  attendance,  invitations  to 
class  socials,  lesson  outlines  and  most  important,  a 
class  paper.  The  school  and  church  of  which  the 
class  is  part  will  also  find  abundant  use  for  such  a 
device.  By  the  purchase  of  such  a  machine  the 
class  will  not  only  increase  its  possibilities  of  work 
among  men,  but  will  be  performing  a  real  service 
to  its  church  and  school. 

IV  :  SOCIAL  EQUIPMENT 

The  amount  of  social  equipment  secured  will,  of 
course,  depend  upon  the  financial  ability  of  the  class. 
A  social  room  is  in  some  cases  desirable — a  place 
where  the  men  may  gather  in  the  evenings  to  read, 
to  write,  to  play  checkers  or  chess,  to  sing,  or  just 
to  chat.  Such  a  room  is  especially  appreciated  by 
men  who  live  in  boarding  houses  or  in  the  congested 
districts,  by  traveling  men,  and  by  young  men  who 


Equipment  39 

like  to  get  out  with  their  chums.  If  no  separate 
room  can  be  secured  for  social  purposes  it  is 
usually  possible  to  use  the  class  room  as  both  a 
study  room  and  a  social  hall.  All  that  is  necessary 
is  to  remove  some  of  the  chairs  and  to  provide  a 
table,  literature,  games,  etc. 

A'  gymnasium  is  desirable,  but  can  usually  be  best 
established  in  connection  with  the  whole  school. 
The  class  might  well  start  a  movement  among  the 
churches  for  the  establishment  of  a  community 
gymnasium  for  use  of  all  the  men  of  the  neighbor¬ 
hood.  The  class  should  have  a  good  piano  in  its 
room.  Too  often  the  sole  music  available  for  the 
men’s  class  is  a  worn-out  organ  which  had  better 
be  put  into  the  school  historical  museum.  Much 
pleasure  may  be  derived  from  a  talking  machine 
which  need  not  be  an  expensive  model. 

All  this  may  seem  to  be  an  elaborate  plan  of 
equipment.  Many  classes  will  be  able  to  have  just 
a  few  of  the  items  mentioned  at  the  start.  There 
is  no  reason  though  for  always  remaining  satisfied 
with  the  minimum.  Every  class  should  always  plan 
to  better  equip  itself  for  doing  better  work.  Money 
spent  for  good  equipment  is  an  investment  that  will 
repay  itself  many  times  in  the  lives  that  have  been 
strengthened  through  the  activities  of  the  class. 


40  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Strickland  &  McGlothlin,  “Building  the  Bible 
Class,”  First  Division,  Chapter  VII. 

Moninger,  “How  to  Build  Up  an  A.  B.  C.,”  Chapter 
XI. 


Chapter  Three 


THE  CLASS  TEACHER 

I!  IMPORTANCE  OF  A  RIGHT  SELECTION 

THE  function  of  the  Men’s  Bible  Class  is  to 
teach  men  that  they  may  live  lives  that  will 
be  in  harmony  with  the  life  principles  of  Jesus 
Christ  It  is  therefore  essential  that  a  wise  choice 
be  made  in  the  selection  of  the  Class  Teacher. 

For  best  results  the  Teacher  of  the  men’s  class 
should  be  a  man.  Particularly  is  this  true  in  classes 
of  the  younger  men,  those  from  eighteen  to  twenty- 
five.  Only  a  man  can  lead  men  of  this  age  in  the 
discussion  of  their  vital  life  problems.  Of  course 
there  is  no  valid  objection  to  having  a  short  course 
of  study  conducted  by  a  woman  who  is  a  specialist 
in  some  field  of  Christian  activity. 

The  Pastor  of  the  church  is  not  often  the  best 
man  to  select  as  the  class  Teacher.  He  comes  be¬ 
fore  the  church  with  two  sermons  each  Sunday — 
another  appearance  before  the  men  might  prove 
monotonous.  Furthermore,  the  Pastor  should  be 
left  free  for  service  in  other  departments  of  the 
school  where  he  may  be  needed. 

Usually  the  best  Teacher  for  the  men’s  class  is  a 

41 


42  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


prominent  layman — a  business  man,  merchant  or 
teacher.  One  of  the  largest  classes  in  the  country 
is  taught  by  an  official  of  a  large  wholesale  grocery 
house;  another  class  is  taught  by  a  prominent  pub¬ 
lic  school  educator;  still  others  by  managers  of 
large  firms,  advertising  men,  lawyers  and  engineers. 
Such  men  because  of  their  Christian  business  in¬ 
fluence  are  better  able  to  reach  and  hold  other  men. 


ii  :  the  teacher’s  personality 

There  are  two  prerequisites  to  successful  teaching 
— personality  and  training.  If  the  Teacher  also  has 
natural  teaching  ability  so  much  the  better,  but 
good  teaching  does  not  depend  upon  natural  ability. 
Neither  is  training  in  the  mechanics  of  teaching 
a  guarantee  of  teaching  success.  The  result ful 
Teacher  is  the  one  who  by  the  sheer  force  of  his  per¬ 
sonality  brings  his  training  into  action  and  appeals 
irresistibly  to  those  whom  he  teaches.  The  power 
and  ability  to  become  friendly  with  one’s  fellows 
and  to  be  liked  by  them ;  the  ability  to  influence  and 
to  lead;  the  manner  in  which  one  carries  himself 
among  others;  all  these  are  included  in  the  word 
“personality.” 

The  Teacher  must  be  a  man  of  highest  personal 
character.  He  must  make  a  vital  appeal  not  only 
by  his  verbal  teaching,  but  also  by  his  example  of 


The  Class  Teacher 


43 


Christian  living.  He  must  be  earnest  and  sincere. 
Nothing  causes  a  teacher  to  lose  popularity  more 
rapidly  than  the  slightest  exhibition  of  insincerity. 
“Do  as  I  do,”  should  be  his  motto — not  “Do  as  I 
say.” 

The  Teacher  who  makes  good  in  the  men’s  class 
must  be  bubbling  over  with  enthusiasm.  Drowsy 
teaching  will  not  make  live,  active  Christians.  If 
the  Teacher  cannot  develop  enthusiasm  on  a  certain 
course  of  lessons,  he  had  better  secure  a  special 
teacher  for  that  particular  series,  or  even  drop  it 
altogether  rather  than  to  chill  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
members.  If  the  Teacher  is  truly  enthusiastic,  his 
spirit  will  be  caught  by  the  class  members;  and  in¬ 
teresting  lessons  are  certain  to  result. 

The  Teacher  should  be  a  friend  to  every  member 
of  the  class.  The  personal  touch  loses  none  of  its 
charm  when  applied  to  adults.  The  successful 
Teacher  will  see  that  he  knows  each  member.  He 
will  chat  with  all  that  he  can  before  and  after  class 
sessions;  he  will  learn  the  names  of  the  members; 
he  will  call  at  their  homes  as  far  as  time  will  per¬ 
mit;  he  will  call  up  members  and  ask  their  advice 
or  their  opinions;  he  will  be  tactful  and  considerate 
toward  them.  Such  a  Teacher  will  find  his  influence 
with  the  class  members  growing  stronger  week  by 
week. 

On  the  Teacher  rests  the  responsibility  of  bringing 


44  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


men  upon  whom  the  duties  of  a  godly  life  have 
rested  but  lightly,  to  a  knowledge  of  the  meaning 
of  true  Christianity.  It  is  his  problem  to  show  that 
religion  is  a  vital  every-day  element  and  not  merely 
a  Sunday  recreation  or  dissipation.  He  will  be 
called  upon  to  show  how  the  teachings  of  Jesus  can 
be  applied  to  our  every-day  life.  As  he  may  often 
be  asked  to  explain  or  defend  the  principles  upon 
which  his  denomination  has  been  founded,  it  fol¬ 
lows  that  the  Teacher  should  be  a  member  of  the 
church  of  which  his  class  is  a  part.  He  must  know 
for  what  his  denomination  stands  and  why.  The 
class  Teacher  must  be  at  once  a  real  man  and  a  real 
Christian. 

A  neat  personal  appearance  is  absolutely  essential 
to  the  Teacher  if  the  respect  of  his  students  is  to  be 
maintained.  Fine  clothing  is  not  necessary,  but  the 
clothing  that  the  Teacher  does  possess  should  be 
scrupulously  clean;  his  trousers  should  be  pressed 
and  his  shoes  polished.  It  might  seem  unnecessary 
to  bring  this  matter  to  the  attention  of  teachers,  yet 
this  writer  has  seen  teachers  who  have  been  just  so 
negligent  of  their  personal  appearance — and  who 
have  failed. 

Detracting  mannerisms  should  be  carefully 
guarded  against.  A  certain  Teacher  had  a  habit  of 
concluding  almost  every  statement  with  the  ques¬ 
tion,  “Is  it  not?”  This  became  so  noticeable  that 


The  Class  Teacher 


45 


the  members  took  to  counting  the  number  of  “is  it 
nots”  during  the  course  of  the  lesson.  The  same 
Teacher,  although  teaching  in  a  room  12  x  12  feet, 
where  he  could  be  easily  seen  and  heard  by  every 
one,  formed  the  habit  of  walking  back  and  forth 
across  the  front  of  the  room  during  the  entire  les¬ 
son  period.  Naturally  the  attention  of  the  class  is 
attracted  to  mannerisms  such  as  these,  rather  than 
to  the  matter  in  the  lesson. 

Finally,  don’t  apologize  if  you  would  maintain 
teaching  prestige.  Teachers  often  preface  the  les¬ 
son  with  such  a  remark  as,  “I  am  very  sorry,  but 
I  was  so  busy  last  week  that  I  had  no  time  to  pre¬ 
pare  a  lesson,  but  we’ll  try  to  get  along  as  well  as 
possible.”  Will  the  class  expect  anything  inspiring 
following  such  an  introduction?  With  the  proper 
general  training  a  Teacher  will  ofttimes  be  able  to 
give  a  very  presentable  lesson  even  though  circum¬ 
stances  prevented  thorough  preparation.  Many 
otherwise  good  lessons  have  been  spoiled  by  apolo¬ 
getic  preludes. 

111:  the  teache.r’s  training 

The  thinking  Teacher  will  quickly  realize  that 
special  training  is  necessary  to  effectively  teach 
classes  of  men  composed  possibly  of  college  students 
and  graduates,  successful  business  men,  and  men 
with  only  a  limited  amount  of  education  or  train- 


46  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


ing.  The  Teacher  must  know  how  to  appeal  to  the 
intellectual  element  as  well  as  how  to  bring  truths 
to  the  level  of  the  other  members.  The  Teacher  can 
give  to  his  pupils  only  that  which  he  has  made  his 
own  through  experience  and  training. 

Training  in  the  Bible 

Since  the  Bible  is  the  basis  of  the  class  teaching, 
it  follows  that  the  Teacher  must  have  Bible  train¬ 
ing.  He  should  have  a  knowledge  of  the  entire 
Bible  in  its  broad  outlines.  He  should  know  the 
message  of  the  different  books  of  the  Bible  and  how 
they  came  to  be  written.  He  will  be  familiar  with 
the  lives  of  the  great  Biblical  characters,  especially 
the  life  of  the  Master  Teacher.  He  must  under¬ 
stand  the  great  fundamental  doctrines  which  the 
Bible  teaches — God,  man,  sin,  salvation,  faith, 
morality,  Christ,  etc.  His  mind,  too,  should  be  able 
to  grasp  the  missionary  and  social  message  of  this 
Book  of  Books. 

Familiarity  with  the  contents  of  the  Bible  is  not 
enough  for  the  well-trained  Teacher.  Certain  re¬ 
lated  subjects  are  necessary  for  purpose  of  sup¬ 
plementing  and  illustrating  the  Biblical  material. 
Every  Teacher  should  know  how  our  Bible  has  come 
down  to  us.  Such  information  will  help  him  settle 
many  troublesome  questions.  Church  history  is 
exceedingly  valuable.  Knowing  this  subject,  the 


The  Class  Teacher 


47 


Teacher  is  equipped  to  correct  many  wrong  concep¬ 
tions  about  the  rise  of  denominations,  about  the 
extension  of  the  Kingdom,  about  the  many  so-called 
“new  religions.”  Having  this  knowledge,  he  can 
present  a  victorious  Christianity  in  a  new  light. 

Biblical  geography  is  valuable  in  the  presentation 
of  many  Bible  lessons.  The  literature  of  a  people 
can  only  be  understood  through  a  knowledge  of  its 
history  and  customs.  These  in  turn  depend  largely 
upon  the  location  and  surface  features  of  the  coun¬ 
try.  If  the  Teacher  knows  the  geography  of  Pales¬ 
tine  and  its  neighboring  Bible  lands  he  will  find  a 
new  interest  in  teaching  the  old  Bible  stories.  Very 
closely  related  to  this  subject  is  the  study  of  Oriental 
manners  and  customs. 

The  progressive  Teacher  will  not  be  satisfied  with 
his  Bible  training  until  he  has  studied  the  results 
of  Christianity  in  the  world.  He  will  want  to  know 
about  the  development  of  Christian  missions — he 
will  want  definite  information  about  the  place  of 
his  denomination  in  world  evangelization.  He  will 
want  to  see  how  Christianity  is  proving  its  teach¬ 
ings  through  modern  philanthropy  and  social 
service.  These  subjects  are  truly  Bible  subjects — 
and  such  as  carry  a  striking  appeal  to  the  men  of 
to-day. 

Knowing  how  to  use  the  Bible  is  the  most  im¬ 
portant  part  of  Bible  training.  The  Teacher  must 


48  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

be  able  to  find  the  things  he  wants  in  the  Bible  when 
he  wants  them.  He  should  be  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  use  of  the  Bible  dictionary,  the  con¬ 
cordance,  the  commentary,  the  subject-index  and 
the  cross  references. 

The  Science  of  Teaching 

Next  in  importance  to  Bible  training  is  training 
in  the  principles  of  religious  education.  It  is  im¬ 
perative  that  the  Teacher  understand  the  character¬ 
istics  of  the  men  whom  he  is  teaching.  He  should 
know  the  laws  of  habit  formation,  the  laws  of 
memory  training,  the  place  of  the  imagination  in 
life,  and  how  to  secure  and  hold  attention.  In 
short,  he  should  have  had  a  good  course  in  ele¬ 
mentary  educational  psychology  of  the  adult  period. 
Fortunately  among  the  Adult  Specialization  Units  of 
the  New  Standard  Teacher  Training  Course  there 
is  a  volume  on  this  subject. 

This  should  be  followed  by  training  in  pedagogy. 
The  Teacher  should  be  familiar  with  the  methods  of 
teaching  and  the  relative  value  of  the  different 
methods.  He  must  realize  that  the  student  is  a  part 
of  the  teaching  process.  He  should  perfect  himself 
in  the  use  of  questions  so  as  to  be  able  to  encourage 
discussion.  The  ability  to  make  simple  blackboard 
illustrations  will  be  of  considerable  help  in  teaching. 


The  Class  Teacher 


49 


The  Teacher's  Library 

The  importance  of  the  teacher’s  working  library 
cannot  be  overestimated.  The  foresighted  Teacher 
will  gradually  build  for  himself  such  a  library  of 
the  best  books  on  the  subjects  of  Bible  study,  psy¬ 
chology  and  pedagogy,  class  organization  and  class 
methods  for  Seniors  and  Adults.  The  addition  of 
just  one  book  every  three  months  will  result  in 
greatly  added  teaching  efficiency.  At  the  start  he 
should  plan  to  have  at  least  a  good  one-volume 
Bible  dictionary,  such  as  Hastings’ ;  a  one-volume 
commentary — Dummelow’s,  for  instance;  a  work 
on  psychology  such  as  James’  “Talks  to  Teachers 
on  Psychology,”  or  Pyle’s  “Principles  of  Educa¬ 
tional  Psychology”;  and  a  book  on  adult  methods, 
one  of  the  best  being  Strickland  and  McGlothlin, 
“Building  the  Bible  Class.”  The  following  is  sug¬ 
gestive  of  what  the  Teacher  should  plan  ultimately 
to  include  in  his  library : 

1.  The  Bible — American  Standard  Revision. 

2.  Harmony  of  the  Gospels — Stevens  &  Burton. 

3.  Bible  Dictionary — Hastings,  1  volume. 

4.  The  One-Volume  Bible  Commentary — Dum- 

melow. 

5.  Comprehensive  Concordance — Walker. 

6.  Building  the  Bible  Class — Strickland  &  Mc¬ 

Glothlin. 

(These  six  books  are  virtually  indispensable) 


50 


The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


7.  The  Adult  Worker  and  His  Work — Barclay. 

8.  The  Ideal  Adult  Class — Wells. 

9.  Adult  Class  Study — Wood. 

10.  Training  in  Christian  Service — Cope;  and  the 

other  Adult  specialization  texts  of  the  New 
Standard  Teacher  Training  Course. 

11.  Outlines  of  Educational  Psychology — Pyle;  or 

Talks  to  Teachers  on  Psychology — James. 

12.  A  Social  Theory  of  Religious  Education — Coe. 

13.  How  to  Teach  Religion — Betts. 

14.  The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind — Coe. 

15.  Teaching  of  Bible  Classes — See. 

16.  Historical  Geography  of  Bible  Lands — Kent. 

17.  Short  History  of  the  Christian  Church — Mon- 

crief. 

18.  The  Missionary  Enterprise — Bliss. 

19.  The  Religions  of  the  World — Barton. 

20.  The  Bible  in  the  Making — Smythe. 

21.  Ancestry  of  the  English  Bible— Price. 

22.  The  Monuments  and  the  Old  Testament — 

Price. 

23.  The  Story  of  the  New  Testament — Goodspeed. 

24.  The  Heart  of  the  Old  Testament — Sampey. 

25.  The  Blackboard  in  the  Sunday  School — Bailey. 

26.  Social  Task  of  Christianity — Batten. 

27.  Social  Teachings  of  Jesus — Rauschenbusch. 

28.  Challenge  of  the  City — Strong;  or,  Challenge 

of  the  Country — Fiske. 

29.  A  good  history  of  the  church  in  which  the 

teacher  is  working. 

30.  A  good  book  on  the  principles  of  the  church 

to  which  the  teacher  belongs. 


The  Class  Teacher 


51 


How  to  Become  a  Trained  Teacher 

Make  up  your  mind  that  you  want  to  be  trained 
— then  that  you  will  be  trained.  Education  is  one 
of  the  things  most  easily  obtained  to-day — if  you 
really  want  it. 

No  Teacher  of  a  class  of  men  should  be  satisfied 
with  less  than  the  complete  New  Standard  Teacher 
Training  Course  as  a  minimum.  Training  classes 
in  the  local  school  or  in  community  schools  furnish 
the  Teacher  who  is  ambitious  to  improve  in  God’s 
work,  a  wonderful  opportunity  to  secure  this  train¬ 
ing. 

Correspondence  study  makes  training  possible  for 
those  who  cannot  attend  training  classes.  Prac¬ 
tically  every  denominational  board  now  offers  the 
complete  New  Standard  Course  by  correspondence. 
Some — for  example,  the  Northern  Baptists  through 
their  Correspondence  Study  Department — offer 
more  advanced  courses  in  Psychology,  Pedagogy, 
Bible,  Church  History,  etc.,  by  the  same  plan.  The 
small  charge  for  text  books  is  usually  the  only  cost 
attached  to  such  courses.  The  University  of  Chi¬ 
cago,  through  the  Atnerican  Institute  of  Sacred 
Literature,  offers  some  unexcelled  courses  in  Bible 
study  at  a  cost  of  only  one  dollar  including  the  text 
book.  More  advanced  courses  in  both  Bible  and 
general  religious  education  are  offered  through  the 
University’s  regular  Extension  Division. 


52  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


Sunday  School  conventions  and  institutes  offer 
such  splendid  opportunities  for  securing  additional 
training.  The  successful  Teacher  must  be  always 
studying.  He  should  be  a  Bible  student.  By  obser¬ 
vation  he  can  often  learn  as  much  from  his  pupils 
as  from  the  lesson.  Private  reading  and  study  will 
result  in  a  marked  improvement  in  a  teacher’s 
ability  to  present  lesson  truths.  The  public  library 
should  prove  a  never  drying  fountain  head  of  in¬ 
formation.  Workers’  magazines  furnish  much 
valuable  material — the  Teacher  will  subscribe  to  at 
least  one  so  as  to  keep  abreast  with  modern  meth¬ 
ods  of  class  work.  “The  Sunday  School  Worker” 
(Judson  Press),  and  “The  Church  School”  (Ch. 
Schl.  Press),  are  the  best  magazines  of  methods 
and  inspiration  now  published,  in  this  writer’s 
opinion.  The  lesson  helps  furnished  by  the  school 
to  its  teachers  contain  much  to  help  the  Teacher. 
Most  of  the  publishing  houses  now  issue  special 
helps  for  men’s  classes  and  for  the  teachers  of  them. 

If  the  Teacher  is  to  be  successful  in  teaching  men, 
he  must  fit  himself  by  broad  preparation.  If  he 
uses  only  the  helps  furnished  by  the  school  in  the 
preparation  of  his  lesson,  he  is  doomed  to  failure. 
Men  want  to  know  too  many  things  that  the  lesson 
writers  may  not  have  mentioned.  The  price  of 
success  in  Bible  teaching  is  the  same  as  in  other 
fields  of  endeavor — hard  work.  Yet  after  all  there 


The  Class  Teacher 


53 


is  a  joy  that  comes  only  from  the  sense  of  having 
accomplished  the  difficult  task — this  joy  is  in  store 
for  the  Teacher  who  makes  the  sacrifice  of  time,  of 
pleasure,  and  of  self  to  become  thoroughly  equipped. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Strickland  &  McGlothlin,  “Building  the  Bible 
Class,”  Second  Division,  Chapter  V. 

Barclay,  “The  Adult  Worker  and  His  Work,”  Chap¬ 
ter  IV. 

Wells,  “The  Ideal  Adult  Class,”  Chapter  I. 

Blick,  “The  Adult  Department,”  Chapters  IX,  X. 

Betts,  “How  to  Teach  Religion.” 

Trumbull,  “Teaching  and  Teachers.” 

Brumbaugh,  “Making  the  Teacher.” 

McElfresh,  “The  Training  of  Sunday  School  Officers 
and  Teachers,”  Chapters  XIII,  XV. 

New  Standard  Teacher  Training  Course — Adult 
Specialization  Units. 


Chapter  Four 


THE  TEACHER  AND  THE  CLASS 

i:  THE  LESSON  PLAN 

IF  the  lesson  is  to  make  an  impression  upon  the 
men  of  the  class,  it  must  be  well  planned.  Not 
only  should  the  scope  of  the  individual  lessons  be 
familiar  to  the  Teacher  before  he  attempts  to  teach, 
but  the  general  outline  of  the  entire  course  should 
be  firmly  fixed  in  his  mind  before  he  teaches  the 
first  lesson.  It  is  desirable  that  the  Teacher  prepare 
his  outline  for  the  entire  course,  so  that  he  will  be 
placed  in  the  most  favorable  position  to  handle  dis¬ 
cussion  and  to  avoid  those  questions  which  antici¬ 
pate  later  lessons.  If  the  Teacher  does  not  know 
what  material  is  included  in  later  portions  of  the 
course  many  embarrassing  situations  are  likely  to 
occur. 

This  actual  occurrence  may  be  cited  as  an  example 
of  how  a  course  should  not  be  planned.  The  series 
of  lessons  was  on  the  Book  of  Daniel  with  the 
emphasis  placed  on  the  life  and  character  of  Daniel 

himself.  The  Teacher  in  charge  of  the  class  gave 

54 


The  Teacher  and  the  Class  55 

several  very  good  lectures  on  the  first  several  chap¬ 
ters  of  the  book,  and  announced  that  since  the 
course  was  so  interesting,  one  week  would  be  spent 
on  each  chapter  of  the  book.  When  the  apocalyptic 
portions  of  the  book  were  reached  the  course  was 
suddenly  cut  short  with  the  explanation  that  all  the 
visions  taught  about  the  same  lesson.  This  Teacher 
had  not  even  gone  to  the  trouble  of  balancing  in  his 
own  mind  the  relative  teaching  values  of  the  several 
portions  of  Daniel,  nor  had  he  secured  the  perspec¬ 
tive  which  a  reading  of  the  entire  book  would  have 
given  him. 

Each  lesson  should  be  planned  completely — noth¬ 
ing  should  be  left  to  chance.  The  Teacher  should 
determine  the  aim  of  the  individual  lesson,  and  its 
relation  to  the  aim  of  the  whole  course.  The  aim 
should  be  written  down  for  use  when  necessary ;  it 
should  be  kept  in  mind  throughout  the  teaching 
period.  Then  there  will  be  less  difficulty  in  keep¬ 
ing  the  class  discussion  on  the  subject. 

Class  discussions  themselves  should  be  thor¬ 
oughly  planned — questions  for  the  opening  period 
should  be  written  down  and  the  final  summing  up 
of  the  material  outlined. 

In  planning  lessons  in  which  class  members  have 
part,  it  is  easily  seen  that  the  Teacher  must  know 
his  men.  In  small  classes  he  will  find  it  compara¬ 
tively  easy  to  know  all  about  all  the  members.  In 


56  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


larger  classes  much  information  will  be  secured  in¬ 
directly.  The  Teacher  will  find  it  convenient  to  list 
all  such  information  on  individual  cards  which  he 
keeps  for  reference.  Data  about  a  man’s  education, 
occupation,  likes  and  dislikes,  hobbies,  willingness 
to  serve  in  class  work  and  a  record  of  how  he  has 
already  served  is  invaluable  to  the  teacher  who 
really  desires  to  enlist  the  men  in  service. 

The  Teacher  should  prepare  written  outlines  of  all 
lessons  taught.  These  serve  to  establish  the  sequen¬ 
tial  relation  of  the  various  points — to  make  certain 
that  no  important  matter  is  omitted — to  keep  the 
Teacher  to  the  subject  and  within  the  time  limit.  It 
will  be  helpful  to  class  members  if  the  Teacher  puts 
a  condensed  copy  of  his  outline  on  the  blackboard, 
or  better  still  to  have  typewritten  outlines  for  dis¬ 
tribution.  A  number  of  classes  regularly  publish 
the  lesson  outlines  in  the  class  bulletin.  Not  only 
do  such  lesson  synopses  aid  in  giving  a  more  con¬ 
nected  impression  of  the  lesson,  but  they  also  help 
those  who  keep  lesson  notes. 

The  aim  of  all  Bible  teaching  is  in  the  end  evan¬ 
gelistic.  The  class  exists  to  win  unsaved  men  to 
Christ  and  to  help  those  who  have  found  Christ 
live  thoroughly  Christian  lives.  The  evangelistic 
aim  must  be  kept  before  the  class,  the  members,  and 
the  teacher.  All  courses  must  be  planned  in  rela¬ 
tion  to  it. 


The  Teacher  and  the  Class  57 


II :  METHODS  OF  TEACHING 

Lecture  Method 

This  is  probably  the  most  used  and  the  least  effec¬ 
tive  method  of  teaching  men.  No  provision  is 
made  for  expressional  activities  on  the  part  of  the 
pupil,  nor  is  there  much  opportunity  to  test  his  ap¬ 
preciation  of  the  teaching. 

The  lecture  method  is  the  only  practical  method 
in  classes  of  unusually  large  membership.  A 
Teacher  can  handle  more  men  at  a  time  by  lectures 
than  in  any  other  way.  We  must  provide  some  lec¬ 
ture  classes  for  those  who  will  not  study,  but  will 
listen  to  a  weekly  lecture  by  a  good  speaker.  It 
follows  that  an  exceptionally  strong  Teacher  is 
needed  to  hold  the  attention  by  this  method  of 
teaching. 

Class  discussion  at  the  close  of  the  lecture  is  often 
a  means  of  relieving  the  monotony  of  pure  lectures. 

Because  the  lecture  method  has  been  used  with 
men’s  classes  is  no  reason  why  it  should  be  con¬ 
tinued.  There  are  many  men  who  can  and  will  give 
time  to  real  study.  To  some  the  lecture  method 
means  simply  another  sermon ;  such  men  either  will 
not  join  a  lecture  class,  or  will  not  attend  preach¬ 
ing  services  later.  The  two  services  should  sup¬ 
plement  rather  than  supplant  one  another.  For 
real  teaching  efficiency  it  would  be  infinitely  better 


58  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

for  some  of  our  enormously  large  classes  to  break 
up  into  smaller  study  groups  of  from  twenty-five  to 
forty  members,  each  group  following  courses  of 
study  selected  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  group.  It 
would  still  be  possible  in  the  inspirational  worship 
periods  and  socials  to  preserve  the  spirit  and  en¬ 
thusiasm  of  numbers. 

The  Topical  Method 

The  Teacher  assigns  to  selected  members  topics  to 
be  investigated  and  reported  on,  one  or  two  weeks 
later  in  class  session.  The  Teacher’s  part  in  this 
case  is  to  gather  the  thoughts  that  have  been  pre¬ 
sented  and  to  give  a  resume  of  the  main  points  of 
the  lesson.  When  this  method  is  used,  it  is  difficult 
to  prevent  one  member  from  taking  too  much  time. 
Many  men  are  inexperienced  in  planning  talks;  they 
don’t  know  how  to  select  just  the  vital  parts  and  to 
discard  the  less  important.  Hence  the  assignments 
should  be  definite,  and  a  time  limit  should  be  set  for 
presentation.  The  topical  method  may  be  used 
with  almost  every  course.  It  is  particularly  suitable 
in  connection  with  courses  in  social  service,  mis¬ 
sions,  church  history,  comparative  religion,  but  is 
suitable  for  supplementing  all  lessons. 

If  the  lesson  is  about  the  Temple,  an  architect 
member  will  be  able  to  throw  considerable  light  on 
the  subject  from  his  standpoint.  One  interested  in 


The  Teacher  and  the  Class  59 


geography  can  give  the  geographical  background  of 
all  lessons.  A  class  studying  “The  Challenge  of 
the  City,^  as  a  text,  assigned  topics  for  investiga¬ 
tion  as  follows:  “liquor  problem,”  “the  tenement 
evil,”  “child  labor,”  “industrial  conditions,”  “the 
juvenile  court,”  all  of  its  own  city.  One  class 
studying  comparative  religions,  used  such  topics  as 
the  “Temples  of  India,  Japan,  etc.,”  “Prayer 
Wheels,”  and  others  similar.  A  live  Teacher  will 
be  able  to  find  more  topics  on  the  subject  studied 
than  can  be  used. 

The  Study  Lesson 

In  this  type  of  lesson  the  Teacher  and  pupils  study 
the  lesson  together,  using  Bible  Dictionaries,  Com¬ 
mentaries  and  reference  books  in  class.  It  is  suited 
to  classes  for  whom  the  material  is  a  little  too  ad¬ 
vanced  to  be  studied  to  advantage  alone.  It  is  a 
good  method  through  which  to  train  a  class  how  to 
study  and  how  to  use  the  Bible.  Most  classes 
would  get  much  good  from  one  or  two  real  study 
courses  each  year.  Lesson  preparation  and  a  lesson 
plan  are  more  important  in  a  course  such  as  this 
than  in  any  other. 

Question  and  Answer  Method 

Unless  the  class  is  actually  studying,  this  method 
is  not  suited  to  adults.  Questions  will  of  course 


60  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

be  used  in  connection  with  the  discussion  method 
of  teaching,  and  in  reviews.  For  this  purpose  a 
knowledge  of  how  to  question  is  essential — other¬ 
wise  the  questioning  is  of  no  value.  As  a  rule  ques¬ 
tions  should  be  not  simply  memory  drill  questions, 
but  should  stimulate  thought.  They  should  not 
suggest  the  answer,  nor  should  they  be  so  involved 
as  to  leave  an  obscure  meaning.  The  Teacher  should 
write  out  in  advance  the  questions  which  he  intends 
to  use. 

Discussion  Method 

This  is  productive  of  excellent  results,  and  with 
it  all  members  may  have  a  part  in  the  lesson. 
Subjects  should  be  announced  in  advance  so  that 
the  members  may  have  time  to  think  them  over. 
Interest  will  be  greater  if  questions  are  given  to  sev¬ 
eral  men  during  the  week,  for  purpose  of  opening 
the  discussion.  Often  the  Teacher  may  outline  the 
subject  briefly  at  the  beginning  of  the  lesson,  and 
then  by  skillful  questioning,  develop  the  discussion. 
Careful  preparation  is  needed  in  this  method. 
Many  topics  dealing  with  the  application  of  Chris¬ 
tian  principles  to  modern  life  may  be  developed  in 
class,  as  most  men  do  some  thinking  along  those 
lines.  Other  subjects  will  call  for  some  advance 
preparation  on  the  part  of  the  members.  In  all  dis¬ 
cussions  care  must  be  taken  not  to  accept  personal 


The  Teacher  and  the  Class  61 

opinions  as  moral  laws.  Let  the  final  answer  to  all 
questions  come  from  the  Word  of  God. 

Debates 

Most  study  courses  will  permit  of  a  debate  some¬ 
where  in  the  course.  A  class  studying  the  “Lure 
of  Africa”  devoted  one  entire  meeting  to  a  debate, 
“Resolved,  that  civilization  has  been  a  net  gain  for 
Africa  and  the  Africans,”  covering  the  matter  of  a 
whole  chapter  in  that  way.  Debates  represent  one 
of  the  best  methods  of  class  expression.  They 
should  not  be  too  long.  If  properly  managed  and 
prepared  they  stimulate  interest  and  healthy  en¬ 
thusiasm. 

Use  of  the  Anecdote 

Properly  used,  the  anecdote  is  a  great  help  in 
presenting  a  lesson  truth.  So  are  fables,  parables, 
comparisons  and  other  illustrations.  The  Teacher 
should  plan  to  introduce  a  number  of  such  illustra¬ 
tions  into  each  lesson — they  brighten  the  session 
materially.  It  is  advisable  for  the  Teacher  to  keep 
either  a  scrap  book  or  a  card  index  file  with  anec¬ 
dotes  and  other  illustrations  readily  accessible,  filed 
so  that  one  may  be  found  to  illustrate  any  subject. 
The  Teacher  should  be  on  the  look-out  in  his  read¬ 
ing,  in  his  conversation,  in  his  travels,  in 
current  events  and  in  nature,  for  good  illustrations. 


62  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 

An  anecdote  should  never  be  told  for  its  own 
sake.  The  Teacher  is  conducting  a  Bible  Class,  with 
the  aim  of  inculcating  lasting  Biblical  knowledge, 
not  a  minstrel  show  with  the  aim  of  causing  laugh¬ 
ter.  If  an  anecdote  which  impresses  a  desired  truth 
results  in  incidental  smiles,  well  and  good — if  there 
is  laughter  without  a  definite,  desirable  impression, 
the  anecdote  is  out  of  place. 

The  writer  recalls  attending  a  class  at  which  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  the  lesson.  The  class  in 
reading  the  Scripture  came  to  the  portion  where  it 
reads,  “.  .  .  .and  whosoever  shall  compel  thee  to 
go  a  mile,  go  with  him  twain.”  Here  the  Teacher 
stopped  and  told  the  class  this  story:  “A  friend 
asked  Mark  Twain  to  go  on  a  walk  with  him. 
‘How  far  is  it?’  asked  Twain.  ‘A  mile,’  answered 
the  friend.  ‘Yes,  I  will  go  for  the  Bible  tells  me 
to/  answered  Twain,  ‘and  whosoever  shall  compel 
thee  to  go  a  mile,  go  with  him,  twain.’  ”  The  at¬ 
tention  of  the  class  was  of  course  taken  from  the 
Scripture  and  directed  to  the  questionable,  out-of¬ 
place  anecdote.  All  anecdotes  and  illustrations 
should  be  included  in  the  teaching  plan. 

Use  of  Lantern  and  Stereoscope 

Both  of  these  instruments  are  great  aids  in  pre¬ 
senting  lessons,  especially  those  on  missions,  his¬ 
tory,  social  service  and  geography.  Interest  is 


The  Teacher  and  the  Class  63 

added  to  the  course,  and  the  scenes  talked  of  are 
made  more  vivid.  Where  neither  are  available, 
charts  made  by  the  members  and  photographs 
mounted  on  screens  are  helpful. 

Special  Speakers 

Very  often  a  class  develops  a  mania  for  special 
speakers.  Great  effort  is  made  to  stir  up  enthusiasm 
for  the  outside  speaker,  and  but  little  effort  is  put 
forth  between  times  in  behalf  of  the  regular,  and 
probably  harder  working  Teacher.  Frequently  these 
speakers  are  introduced  in  the  midst  of  a  course, 
breaking  the  connection  between  the  lessons. 

Special  inspirational  speakers  should  be  used  as 
a  means,  not  an  end.  It  is  often  possible  to  secure 
a  specialist  on  a  subject  which  the  class  is  studying. 
If  so,  the  class  should  by  all  means  invite  him  to 
discuss  some  lesson  of  the  course.  On  special  days 
such  as  Rally  Day  an  inspirational  speaker  is  de¬ 
sirable.  Some  classes  plan  special  short  summer 
courses  with  different  speakers  of  note  for  each 
Sunday — a  splendid  way  of  stimulating  attendance 
during  the  vacation  period. 


Ill :  CLASS  EXPRESSION 

Education  is  not  simply  a  “pouring  in”  process. 
There  must  be  a  certain  amount  of  pouring  out  on 


64  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


the  part  of  the  student.  In  other  words,  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  expression  must  be  given.  In  the  men's 
classes  expression  largely  takes  the  form  of  lesson 
discussion.  Every  member  should  be  encouraged 
to  take  some  part  in  the  discussion.  Much  can  be 
learned  from  listening  to  the  views  of  the  other 
members. 

The  topical  method  of  conducting  a  lesson  gives 
abundant  opportunity  for  expression  on  the  part  of 
the  class  members.  In  presenting  assigned  topics 
they  not  only  give  information,  but  learn  much 
themselves.  The  Teacher  who  lectures  always  learns 
more  than  his  hearers,  because  of  the  preparation 
which  he  gives  to  his  subject.  By  the  use  of  the 
topical  method,  every  member  is  in  effect  a  Teacher. 
Any  class  using  this  method  consistently  will  find 
its  members  increasing  in  Biblical  knowledge  and 
in  class  interest.  To  the  more  timid  members 
should  be  assigned  the  reading  of  the  Scripture  les¬ 
son  and  other  simple  tasks,  until  the  timidity  wears 
off.  The  Bible  should  be  read  at  every  class  meet¬ 
ing  even  though  the  course  is  so-called  “extra- 
Biblical.”  The  class  might  read  some  one  complete 
book  or  a  group  of  short  books  during  such  courses. 

The  better  way  of  reading  the  Scripture,  espe¬ 
cially  in  smaller  classes  is  each  member  alternately 
reading  a  certain  portion,  not  necessarily  one  verse, 


The  Teacher  and  the  Class  65 

but  rather  a  whole  section  or  paragraph  giving  a 
complete  thought,  following  American  Revised  Ver¬ 
sion  divisions.  Responsive  reading  usually  sounds 
rather  weak  in  small  classes  and  should  not  be  en¬ 
couraged.  The  members  should  also  be  urged  to 
form  the  habit  of  home  daily  Bible  reading. 

Another  method  of  expression  is  by  means  of 
note  books.  Many  men  get  the  most  good  from  the 
lesson  in  this  way.  The  outline  of  the  lesson,  the 
leading  thoughts,  and  any  special  points  of  interest 
should  be  noted.  In  every  class  there  should  be 
some  members  who  would  be  willing  to  keep  note 
books. 

In  such  courses  as  “The  Social  Teachings  of 
Jesus,”  a  very  good  plan  is  to  provide  all  members 
with  cheap  Testaments,  and  to  ask  them  to  under¬ 
score  all  passages  from  which  a  social  teaching  may 
be  gotten.  If  underscored  in  red  and  the  teaching 
noted  in  the  margin,  a  very  graphic  index  of  Jesus’ 
teachings  about  money,  the  family,  divorce,  etc., 
will  be  the  result.  More  nearly  complete  notes  may 
be  kept  if  an  interleaved  Testament  is  used. 

In  the  Teacher’s  plan  of  the  lesson,  provision 
should  be  made  for  expression  as  far  as  possible 
on  the  part  of  every  member.  Various  methods 
may  be  planned  for  the  same  course,  some  elaborate 
for  those  having  some  time  at  their  disposal,  and 


66  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


some  designed  for  the  busy  members  of  the  class. 
One  class  in  studying  the  ‘‘Life  of  Christ”  gave  an 
option  of  five  methods  of  work  and  asked  every 
member  to  choose  one  of  them : 

1.  Write  your  own  “Life  of  Christ.”  Write  one 
chapter  in  your  note  book  each  week,  until  the 
course  is  completed.  The  chapters  need  be  no 
longer  than  three  hundred  words. 

2.  Learn  an  outline  of  His  life,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  give  in  a  connected  way  the  chief  events  in  each 
period. 

3.  Read  the  Life  of  Christ  as  written  in  the  four 
Gospels;  the  use  of  a  harmony  is  recommended. 

4.  Read  the  short,  selected  Scripture  lessons  each 
week. 

5.  Attend  class  throughout  the  course. 

With  such  a  program  no  one  is  asked  to  do  more 
than  he  is  able;  provision  is  made  for  the  man  who 
has  no  time  for  study,  and  also  for  the  one  who 
has  plenty  of  time.  Using  this  same  study,  mem¬ 
bers  of  another  class  made  their  own  harmonies  by 
pasting  the  Scripture  from  two  cheap  Testaments 
in  parallel  columns  in  a  blank  note  book.  Such 
harmonies  can  also  be  made  of  the  Life  of  Paul, 
by  pasting  the  Pauline  Epistles  in  their  proper  his¬ 
torical  sequence  between  events  in  the  book  of  Acts; 
of  the  Old  Testament  Prophetical  Literature,  plac¬ 
ing  it  correctly  in  relation  to  events  given  in  the 


The  Teacher  and  the  Class  67 

books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles.  So,  too,  an  his¬ 
torical  New  Testament  may  be  made  by  placing  the 
books  in  the  accepted  order  of  writing. 

Special  Talks 

Some  classes  have  used  certain  interest-creating 
talks  by  members  for  just  five  minutes  every  Sun¬ 
day  morning.  One  class  had,  for  a  number  of 
weeks,  a  series  of  “Current  Topic  Talks”  by  dif¬ 
ferent  men  each  week.  The  speaker  chose  some 
topic  of  current  interest  and  gave  a  brief  talk, 
bringing  out  the  lesson  he  saw  in  it.  A  series  of 
“Shop  Talks”  also  held  attention  and  served  to 
make  the  members  better  acquainted.  In  this  case 
the  speaker  gave  a  brief  outline  of  his  business.  A' 
series  of  “Hobby  Talks”  can  also  be  used  in  the 
same  manner. 

Not  all  the  suggestions  given  here  are  applicable 
to  all  classes.  The  Teacher  must  study  his  class  and 
use  the  methods  best  adapted  to  it.  Hard  work  and 
persistent  effort  always  result  in  increased  interest 
on  the  part  of  the  class  members. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

New  Standard  Teacher  Training  Course — Adult 
Specialization  Units. 

Barclay,  “The  Adult  Worker  and  His  Work,”  Chap¬ 
ters  VI,  VII,  VIII,  IX,  X,  XI,  XII.  XIII. 


68  The  Men  s  Class  in  Action 

Bovard,  “Adults  in  the  Sunday  School,”  Chapters  V, 
VII. 

Richardson,  “The  Religious  Education  of  Adoles¬ 
cents,”  Chapter  XI.  (For  Teachers  of  Young  Men.) 
Wells,  “The  Ideal  Adult  Class,”  Chapters  II,  IV. 
Hudson,  “The  ‘How’  Book.” 

Betts,  “How  to  Teach  Religion.” 

Betts,  “The  Recitation.” 

Gregory,  “The  Seven  Laws  of  Teaching.” 

Coe,  “A  Social  Theory  of  Religious  Education.” 

Coe,  “The  Spiritual  Life.” 

Coe,  “The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind.” 

King,  “Personal  and  Ideal  Elements  in  Education.” 
Horne,  “Psychological  Principles  of  Education.” 
James,  “Talks  to  Teachers  on  Psychology.” 

Fitch,  “The  Art  of  Securing  Attention.” 

Hughes,  “How  to  Secure  and  Retain  Attention.” 
Branom,  “The  Project  Method  in  Education.” 

Pyle,  “Outlines  of  Educational  Psychology.” 

Wood,  “Adult  Class  Study,”  Chapter  I. 

Horne,  “Leadership  of  Bible  Study  Groups.” 
Munsterberg,  “Psychology  and  the  Teacher.” 
Starbuck,  “The  Psychology  of  Religion.” 


Chapter  Five 


PRINCIPLES  OF  STUDY  COURSE 
SELECTION 

I  :  THE  NEED  OF  ELECTIVE  COURSES 

NO  hard  and  fast  rule  of  grading  can  be  laid 
down  for  adult  classes.  When  the  young 
man  reaches  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  has  certain  life 
interests  that  influence  his  conduct  very  strongly. 
He  is  very  likely,  unless  going  on  to  college,  ready 
to  make  his  decision  regarding  a  life  occupation — 
he  should  be  considering  this  at  any  rate.  If  al¬ 
ready  settled  in  a  line  of  work,  he  is  interested  in 
the  application  of  religious  teachings  to  that  work; 
social  interests  crowd  upon  him;  he  has  problems 
of  dress,  of  amusements,  of  friends,  etc.  The  mind 
is  developing  and  the  reasoning  instincts  are  grow¬ 
ing;  now  the  young  man  will  not  accept  dogmatic 
statements — he  insists  that  his  reason  be  satisfied. 
To  meet  the  varied  needs  of  the  men  in  the  Sunday 
School,  the  privilege  of  election  of  study  courses 
should  be  granted  to  the  adult  classes. 

In  selecting  study  courses  the  class  should  not 

forget  that  it  is  organized  primarily  for  the  study 

69 


70  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

of  the  Bible  and  the  application  of  its  teachings  to 
the  lives  of  its  members.  The  Adult  Bible  Class 
can  hardly  study  socialism,  sociology,  history  or 
literature,  except  as  it  studies  these  subjects  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  Biblical  solution  of  members’  prob¬ 
lems — to  help  illuminate  the  Scriptures,  as  it  were. 
While  all  class  study  should  keep  to  the  Bible,  that 
does  not  mean  that  the  Bible  will  be  studied  for  its 
own  sake.  Dr.  Samuel  Zane  Batten  strikes  a  key¬ 
note  when  he  says,  “A  Bible  Class  that  begins  and 
ends  its  work  with  a  study  of  the  Scriptures  is 
wasting  its  time  and  is  not  honoring  the  King.”  1 
It  is  only  as  the  teachings  of  the  marvelous  Book 
of  Books  are  applied  to  the  lives  of  men  and  women 
that  its  potentiality  becomes  a  living,  pulsating  force 
for  righteousness.  It  is  this  force  which  the  men’s 
class  must  seek  to  develop. 

II :  DETERMINING  FACTORS 

Class  Membership 

No  two  classes  will  require  nor  want  the  same 
courses  of  study.  The  ages  of  the  members  will 
determine  to  some  extent  the  courses  to  be  studied ; 
the  individual  needs  and  interests  of  the  members 
will  add  its  influence  toward  the  formation  of  a 
study  course.  Most  men  will  give  but  little  time  to 

1  “Training  for  Citizenship  in  the  Kingdom  of  God.” — Batten. 


71 


Study  Course  Selection 

lesson  preparation;  consequently  the  courses  should 
be  to  the  point  and  intensely  practical,  so  that  all 
attendants  will  find  the  sessions  helpful,  thought 
provoking  and  action  stimulating. 

The  Class  Teacher 

The  study  course  will  be  determined  in  part  by 
the  Teacher.  If  he  is  untrained  (he  need  not  remain 
so)  he  will  be  unable  to  teach  many  courses  that 
a  trained  Teacher  would.  No  Teacher  without  a 
knowledge  of  social  organization  or  social  ideals 
should  attempt  to  teach  such  a  book  as  Matthews’ 
“Social  Teachings  of  Jesus.”  Neither  should  a 
Teacher  who  knows  nothing  of  the  facts  of  general 
secular  history  try  to  teach  a  course  in  Church  His¬ 
tory.  The  study  course  will  vary  from  simple  to 
complex  as  the  Teacher  advances  in  knowledge,  and 
as  the  class  members  progress  in  their  ability  to 
grasp  the  subject  matter. 

Class  Aim 

The  course  will  also  be  determined  by  the  class 
aim.  A  class  may  organize  for  the  study  of  mis¬ 
sions — the  bulk  of  the  courses  will  then  be  mis¬ 
sionary  in  their  appeal;  it  may  organize  to  study 
the  social  message  of  the  Bible,  in  which  case  most 
of  the  courses  will  emphasize  that  aim;  again  its 
aim  may  be  to  make  better  parents  and  better  chil- 


72  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


dren — it  will  then  study  one  or  more  strong  Child 
Study  Courses  annually.  In  one  of  the  large  St. 
Louis  Sunday  Schools,  there  is  a  class  composed  of 
salesmen  and  advertising  men,  organized  to  study 
the  relation  of  Biblical  teachings  to  their  work — 
this  aim  naturally  determines  the  course  followed. 
There  is  no  reason  why  in  every  Sunday  School 
there  should  not  be  a  number  of  special  groups  fol¬ 
lowing  courses  along  the  lines  of  their  several  spe¬ 
cial  interests.  If  the  class  is  large  enough  there 
may  be  several  groups  within  the  class,  either  meet¬ 
ing  at  the  regular  study  period  or  during  a  special 
week  period.  Some  of  the  larger  classes  have  con¬ 
ducted  supplementary  week-day  classes  with  good 
effect. 

Balance 

As  a  general  thing  the  size  of  the  class  and  the 
teachers  available  will  make  it  difficult  to  conduct 
many  separate  classes  at  one  time.  In  order  to  best 
meet  the  needs  of  the  entire  class  constituency,  the 
need  of  a  balanced  course  is  made  evident — even 
if  one’s  interest  does  lie  largely  in  one  direction  it 
is  not  advisable  to  confine  his  study  simply  to  the 
one  subject.  Just  as  one  will  not  thrive  on  choco¬ 
late  pie  alone,  but  needs  a  balanced  diet  to  nourish 
every  part  of  the  physical  man,  so  all  parts  of  the 


73 


Study  Course  Selection 

mental  and  spiritual  man  need  development.  The 
course  of  study  should  then  include  the  elements 
needed  to  bring  about  the  complete  spiritual  growth 
of  the  class  membership.  How  a  balanced  course  is 
built  will  be  shown  later. 

Ill:  WHO  SHOULD  SELECT  THE  COURSE? 

This  depends  on  conditions.  If  the  school  has 
a  committee  on  education,  the  course  selected  by  the 
class  should  be  submitted  to  it  or  to  the  Superin¬ 
tendent  of  Education.  Usually  if  the  Teacher  is 
competent,  the  course  is  selected  by  him  and  sub¬ 
mitted  to  the  class  for  approval.  The  wisdom  of 
this  is  easily  seen;  the  Teacher  is  more  likely  to 
know  the  needs  of  the  members  than  any  one  else. 
In  some  cases  he  forms  the  course  in  connection 
with  a  class  committee  appointed  for  the  purpose. 
In  other  cases,  a  list  of  courses,  grouped  according 
to  kind,  is  submitted,  from  which  the  members 
select  their  preferences.  From  this  selection  the 
Teacher  selects  the  course,  trying  to  suit  the  greatest 
number. 

The  selected  courses  should  always  be  submitted 
for  approval  to  the  head  of  the  school,  who  is  dele¬ 
gated  with  the  duty  of  properly  correlating  the 
school  curriculum.  This  may  be  the  Superinten- 


74  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


dent  or  the  Director  of  Religious  Education.  The 
class  may  well  take  him  into  its  confidence  during 
the  entire  process  of  determining  the  subjects  that 
are  to  be  included  in  its  year’s  study. 


IV  :  BALANCING  THE  COURSE 

A'  balanced  curriculum  will  include  five  kinds  of 
courses : 

Bible  Outline  Course — in  which  some  one  book 
or  some  portion  of  the  Bible  is  studied  so  as  to  get 
a  bird’s-eye  view,  as  it  were — a  connected  outline 
of  its  structure  and  purpose.  The  study  of  the 
Old  Testament  period  in  fifteen  weeks  is  such  a 
course; 

Intensive  Bible  Study  Course — in  which  some 
portion  of  the  Bible  is  studied  intensively,  so  as  to 
get  all  the  details.  The  Epistle  of  James  in  nine 
weeks  is  a  good  example; 

Christian  Life  Course — the  use  of  the  Bible 
teachings  in  actual  life,  e.g.,  “Christianity  and 
Amusements”  and  “A  Young  Man’s  Problems.” 
Here  belong  also  doctrinal  and  devotional  courses; 

Church  History  Courses — such  as  “How  We  Got 
Our  Bible,”  “History  of  Religion,”  or  “History  of 
the  Christian  Church”; 

Modern  Christian  Work — which  includes  courses 
on  missions  and  social  service. 


Study  Course  Selection 


75 


v:  THE  CURRICULUM  UNIT 

The  course  of  study  should  be  outlined  for  an 
entire  year.  That  is  the  only  way  to  actually  main¬ 
tain  balance.  It  takes  real  foresight  and  initiative 
to  prepare  courses.  It  takes  the  same  qualities  to 
maintain  them.  A  positive  way  to  lose  interest  in 
a  course  is  to  enter  into  it  only  half  prepared.  The 
illustration  of  the  Teacher  and  the  Book  of  Daniel 
in  Chapter  IV  is  an  instance  of  how  not  to  do  it. 
Another  Teacher  decided  that  a  certain  course  had 
ceased  to  interest  the  class,  and  asked,  “Well,  what 
shall  we  study  next?”  The  following  Sunday  he 
attempted  to  start  a  new  course  that  had  been 
selected  by  one  of  the  members — this  course  also 
failed  to  hold  interest  after  several  weeks. 


VI :  LENGTH  OF  COURSES 

Among  the  younger  men  there  is  a  tendency 
to  grow  restless — they  want  variety.  This  means 
shorter  courses.  As  a  usual  thing,  a  course  should 
not  last  longer  than  three  months — two  months  is 
better,  and  most  six-week  courses  are  always  suc¬ 
cessful.  There  are  exceptions  of  course — one  young 
man’s  class  studied  “The  Story  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment”  for  seventeen  weeks,  but  that  course  was 


76  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


virtually  a  new  course  each  week,  as  an  entirely  dif¬ 
ferent  book  was  discussed  at  each  session. 


VII :  VARIATION  OF  APPROACH 

In  selecting  courses  it  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  same  subject  matter  may  usually  be  treated 
in  several  ways.  Take  the  life  of  Christ  for  in¬ 
stance.  One  class  has  studied  an  outline  of  the 
Life  according  to  the  synoptic  Gospels,  the  course 
lasting  only  nine  weeks.  From  it  the  class  obtained 
a  picture  of  the  connected  Life,  more  vivid  than 
any  they  had  received  before.  At  another  time  a 
course  on  the  teachings  of  Christ’s  parables  as  re¬ 
corded  by  Luke  was  taken.  A  course  on  “The  So¬ 
cial  Teachings  of  Jesus”  proved  very  interesting. 
Courses  could  also  be  given  on  The  Miracles  of 
Jesus,  The  Ethical  Teachings  of  Jesus,  a  Devotional 
Study  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  the  study  of  the  pic¬ 
tures  of  Christ  given  by  each  of  the  four  gospels, 
each  taken  separately,  a  study  of  “How  Jesus  Met 
Life  Problems,”  and  “How  Jesus  Met  Men.”  The 
possibilities  are  really  inexhaustible. 


VIII  :  THE  MEMBERS  TEACHING 

The  class  may  occasionally  desire  to  vary  its  les¬ 
son  program  by  including  a  course,  conducted  not 


77 


Study  Course  Selection 

by  the  Teacher,  but  by  the  members — a  course 
planned  by  the  Teacher,  but  of  such  a  nature  that  a 
member  could  readily  lead  the  discussion.  A  Mis¬ 
sion  course  might  easily  be  planned  with  this  end 
in  view.  The  “Challenge  of  the  City,”  or  “The 
Challenge  of  the  Country,”  might  be  handled  in 
that  way,  with  the  application  made  to  the  com¬ 
munity  in  which  the  class  is  situated.  Such  a 
course  would  be  a  splendid  one  to  have  during  the 
summer  vacation  period  while  the  regular  Teacher 
is  away. 

In  a  course  on  Hebrew  Laws,  given  by  one  men’s 
class,  a  lawyer  member  was  able  to  lead  the  class 
with  even  more  enthusiasm,  and  better  results  than 
the  Teacher  himself — knowing  more  about  modern 
law  than  the  Teacher,  he  could  better  show  how  the 
Old  Testament  laws  were  the  basis  of  the  laws  of 
to-day.  The  Teacher  who  is  always  looking  for 
best  results  will  not  overlook  such  opportunities  to 
utilize  the  class  members. 

Some  classes  as  mentioned  in  Chapter  IV  pro¬ 
vide  courses  for  a  limited  period,  in  which  a  dif¬ 
ferent  visiting  speaker  discusses  one  phase  of  the 
subject  each  week.  Such  courses  as  A  Young 
Man’s  Problems,  A  Young  Man’s  Religion,  and 
many  Social  Service  courses  can  be  conducted  in 
that  way.  Those  in  charge  should  be  careful  to 
have  the  entire  program  fully  planned,  so  that  due 


78  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


announcement  of  the  complete  course  may  be  made 
at  the  very  beginning.  Such  announcement,  printed 
on  cards  or  in  papers,  with  the  dates,  names  of  the 
topics  and  the  speakers  who  are  to  discuss  them, 
should  make  an  excellent  advertisement  to  bring  in 
new  members. 

These  special  features  should  be  used  judiciously. 
Only  the  largest  classes  could  possibly  keep  up  such 
a  pace  of  special  features  for  protracted  periods. 
The  most  desirable  enthusiasm  is  that  which  is  per¬ 
manent — the  enthusiasm  of  consistent,  consecutive 
effort  by  the  class  as  it  stands  back  of  the  regular 
teacher.  A  religious  “jag”  has  little  permanent 
value. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Wood,  “Adult  Class  Study,”  Part  I. 

Strickland  &  McGlothlin,  “Building  the  Bible 
Class,”  Second  Division,  Chapter  VII. 

Barclay,  “The  Adult  Worker  and  His  Work,”  Chap¬ 
ter  V. 

Blick,  “The  Adult  Department,”  Chapter  VI. 

Bovard,  “Adults  in  the  Sunday  School,”  Chapter  VI. 

Pease,  “An  Outline  of  a  Bible  School  Curriculum,” 
Chapters  IX,  X,  XI. 

Batten,  “Social  Studies  for  Adult  Classes”;  “Train¬ 
ing  for  Citizenship  in  the  Kingdom  of  God.”  (Leaflets 
from  Social  Service  Department,  American  Baptist  Pub¬ 
lication  Society.) 


Chapter  Six 


BUILDING  THE  STUDY  COURSE 

I :  AVAILABLE  STUDY  COURSES 

International  Uniform  Lessons 

MANY  classes  use  these  lessons  to  good 
advantage,  suiting  them  to  their  needs. 
Some  of  the  new  International  courses  are  well 
adapted  to  use  in  men’s  classes.  As  a  whole  they 
are  too  fragmentary;  then,  too,  they  omit  entirely 
many  portions  of  the  Bible  and  subjects  of  great 
interest  and  value  to  men.  Most  classes  need  les¬ 
sons  designed  particularly  for  their  own  mem¬ 
bership.  Getting  away  from  the  International 
Uniform  Lessons  does  not  mean  that  the  class  is 
getting  away  from  Bible  study.  There  are  many 
available  Bible  Study  Courses  more  suited  to  the 
men’s  class  than  the  uniform  lessons. 

International  Graded  Series 

Some  splendid  courses  are  included,  and  excel¬ 
lent  helps  are  issued  by  all  the  denominational  pub¬ 
lishing  houses.  Even  fourth  year  Intermediate 

courses  can  be  and  have  been  successfully  adapted 

79 


80  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

for  use  in  adult  classes.  The  senior  courses  are 
splendid  for  all  men’s  classes,  and  include  surveys 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  historically  de¬ 
veloped;  a  very  complete  social  service  course; 
studies  in  Christian  Service ;  the  study  of 
the  Books  of  James  and  Ruth,  Old  Testament  lit¬ 
erary  masterpieces;  a  study  of  twelve  Biblical 
biographies  with  the  emphasis  on  the  Social  devel¬ 
opment  of  Biblical  history.  It  would  be  well  for 
every  teacher  to  have  the  prospecti  of  these  courses 
furnished  free  by  the  publishing  houses. 

The  International  Sunday  School  Council  has 
prepared  outlines  of  several  graded  courses  for 
Adult  Classes,  some  of  which  have  been  published 
by  the  Westminster  Press  of  Philadelphia.  A  com¬ 
plete  set  of  outlines,  from  which  any  capable  teacher 
may  easily  formulate  a  course,  may  be  secured  from 
the  Council.  Outlines  are  available  on  Amos, 
one  quarter;  Christianity  in  Action,  four  one- 
quarter  courses;  Hints  on  Child  Training,  three 
months;  the  Liquor  Evil,  three  months;  Deuteron¬ 
omy,  three  months;  Galatians,  three  months. 

University  of  Chicago  Courses 

The  University  publishes  in  the  Constructive 
Series  some  very  good  courses  for  young  men  and 
adults;  included  are  courses  on  The  Gospel  of  Mark, 
First  Samuel,  Life  of  Christ,  Hebrew  Prophets, 


Building  the  Study  Course  81 

History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Social  Duties 
from  a  Christian  Point  of  View,  etc.  Under  the 
direction  of  the  American  Institution  of  Sacred 
Literature,  are  published  some  of  the  finest  available 
inductive  courses  on  the  Bible,  all  developed  his¬ 
torically  and  with  the  aid  of  no  book  other  than  the 
Bible  itself.  Courses  are  available  on  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  The  Psalms,  The  Wisdom 
Literature,  The  Priestly  Literature,  The  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  Prophets,  The  Book  of  Revelation,  The  Life 
of  Christ,  The  Gospel  of  John,  The  Life  and  Teach¬ 
ings  of  Paul,  The  Social  and  Ethical  Teachings  of 
Jesus,  and  others.  The  teacher  should  secure  com¬ 
plete  lists  of  titles  of  both  these  series  from  the  Uni¬ 
versity  of  Chicago  Press. 

Scribner’s  Courses 

Two  worthwhile  series  of  courses  are  published 
by  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons,  New  York.  The  Uni¬ 
form  Graded  Series  of  lessons  is  to  the  writer’s 
mind  far  superior  to  the  International  Uniform  Les¬ 
sons  for  giving  a  connected  account  of  the  events 
of  the  Bible.  These  courses  include  Old  Testament 
History,  Apostolic  Church  History,  Life  of  Christ, 
and  several  courses  of  Old  and  New  Testament 
biographies.  Each  course  covers  one  year’s  work. 

The  Completely  Graded  Series  contains  some 
splendid  material,  not  to  be  found  in  courses  of 


82  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


other  publishers.  There  is  an  entire  year’s  course 
on  missions,  which  may  be  divided  into  shorter 
three-month  courses;  Comparative  Religions,  Mis¬ 
sions  in  the  Eastern  World,  Missions  in  the  Western 
World,  and  the  Business  of  Missions.  A'  very  good 
course  on  Church  History  is  provided,  and  another 
on  The  Modern  Church.  Lists  of  the  complete 
courses  will  be  furnished  free  by  the  publishers. 

Fleming  Revell  Press 

The  series  of  ten  courses  by  Dr.  Sell  is  suitable 
for  all  men’s  classes — Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ; 
Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels;  Studies  in  the  Life  of 
Paul;  Early  Church  History;  Studies  in  the  Life 
of  the  Christian;  Bible  Study  by  Books;  Bible  Study 
by  Periods;  Bible  Study  by  Doctrines;  Bible  Study 
in  Vital  Questions;  Supplementary  Bible  Study. 
Revell  also  publish  a  series  of  twelve  Bible  Biogra¬ 
phies,  as  well  as  many  separate  texts,  suitable  for 
class  study.  Classes  interested  in  Church  History 
and  Missions  will  find  some  of  the  most  valuable 
material  in  the  Revell  Catalog. 

Abingdon  Press 

The  Catalogue  of  the  publishing  board  of  the 
M.  E.  Church  shows  some  splendid  texts  on  prac¬ 
tical  Christian  living  and  on  the  modern  “fad”  re¬ 
ligions. 


Building  the  Study  Course  83 

Association  Press 

The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  courses,  of  which  there  are 
many,  appeal  strongly  to  men.  Courses  are  pre¬ 
pared  for  beginners  in  Bible  Study  as  well  as  for 
those  who  can  assimilate  the  meat  of  the  Scripture. 
Many  of  the  courses  provide  for  daily  readings  of 
the  Bible.  There  are  included  some  very  fine 
studies  of  sections  of  the  Bible,  but  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
courses  emphasize  Christian  Life  and  the  Devo¬ 
tional  element.  To  list  the  better  courses  would  be 
to  reprint  the  Association  Press  Catalog. 

Judson  Press 

Aside  from  the  regular  graded  lesson  material, 
the  publishing  house  of  the  Northern  Baptists  issues 
much  other  literature  that  is  suitable  for  use  as 
study  courses.  A  series  of  three  courses  by  Dr. 
Philip  Nordell,  on  the  Old  Testament  History, 
Apostolic  Age,  and  Life  of  Christ  is  worthy  of  con¬ 
sideration.  The  series  of  church  history  handbooks 
by  Dr.  Vedder  are  good  for  either  four  short  courses 
or  one  long  course  on  Church  History.  Four  ex¬ 
cellent  three  month  Old  Testament  Courses — Old 
Testament  History,  Old  Testament  Wisdom,  Old 
Testament  Character  Crises,  and  Old  Testament 
Evangelism — have  just  been  published. 


84  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


Sunday  School  Board 

The  Board  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention 
publishes  a  large  number  of  valuable  works  suitable 
for  class  study.  The  Convention  Series  of  Com¬ 
mentaries  might  well  form  the  basis  of  pure  Bible 
study.  Volumes  have  already  been  issued  covering 
the  Pastoral  Epistles,  Romans,  Philippians,  Ephe¬ 
sians,  Mark,  Acts  and  Hebrews.  In  the  fourth  year 
Senior  Graded  series,  the  Sunday  School  Board 
offers  worthwhile  three-month  courses  on  John, 
Ezekiel,  Romans  and  Psalms. 


Pilgrim  Press 

The  outline  Bible-Class  Courses  of  the  Pilgrim 
Press  give  subject  headings  and  all  necessary  Scrip¬ 
ture  references,  as  well  as  an  extensive  bibliogra¬ 
phy.  The  Teacher  using  these  outlines  is  in  a  posi¬ 
tion  to  present  some  intensely  interesting  courses. 
The  Pilgrim  list  covers  such  subjects  as  The  Life  of 
Christ  according  to  the  Synoptic  Gospels;  the  Wis¬ 
dom  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament;  Hebrew 
Laws;  Apocalyptic  Literature;  Life  of  Paul;  Let¬ 
ters  of  Paul;  Book  of  Acts;  Joshua  and  Judges; 
Book  of  First  Samuel;  History  of  Missions;  His¬ 
tory  of  the  Christian  Church;  History  of  Bible 
Versions;  Biblical  Geography;  Old  Testament 
Apocrypha;  a  Study  of  the  City.  These  outlines 


Building  the  Study  Course  85 

may  be  secured  for  five  cents  each.  Address  Pil¬ 
grim  Press,  Boston. 

Westminster  Press 

The  many  texts  available  from  this  publisher 
make  it  easy  for  the  Teacher  to  select  suitable 
courses.  Excellent  books  suitable  for  the  study  of 
church  history,  missions  and  Christian  Character 
building  may  be  secured. 

Friends'  Series 

The  Society  of  Friends  of  Philadelphia  publish 
in  their  Graded  Series  some  worthy  courses.  A 
thirty-six  lesson  course  on  the  Social  Teachings  of 
Jesus  can  be  had;  seven  lessons  of  these  are  on  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  Prophet’s  series  in¬ 
cludes  studies  on  Amos,  seven  weeks;  Hosea,  four 
weeks;  Isaiah,  eleven  weeks;  Jeremiah,  seven 
weeks ;  Micah,  three  weeks.  In  the  Hebrew  Litera¬ 
ture  course  is  a  course  on  the  Epistle  to  the  He¬ 
brews,  nine  weeks. 

Mission  Study 

All  the  best  mission  study  books  may  be  secured 
through  the  regular  Sunday  School  supply  houses. 
The  most  popular  series  is  that  published  by  the 
Missionary  Education  Movement  of  New  York,  al¬ 
though  many  worthwhile  texts  are  also  published  by 


86  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


Revell,  Macmillan  and  Scribner.  The  Teacher 
should  secure  the  catalog  of  the  Missionary  Edu¬ 
cation  Department  of  his  own  denominational 
board,  which  usually  lists  Mission  study  books  of 
the  Home  and  Foreign  Boards  as  well  as  the  litera¬ 
ture  of  other  denominations. 

Individually  Planned  Courses 

If  the  Teacher  has  the  ability,  he  may  plan  his 
own  course.  One  Teacher  planned  a  course  on 
“How  We  Got  Our  Bible,”  by  selecting  material 
from  six  or  eight  texts,  all  of  which  were  incom¬ 
plete  in  themselves,  and  was  in  that  way  able  to 
present  a  complete  course  covering  the  entire  sub¬ 
ject.  A'  course  on  strictly  denominational  mission¬ 
ary  work  was  in  like  manner  prepared  from  litera¬ 
ture  furnished  by  the  Mission  Boards  and  files  of 
the  denominational  missionary  magazines.  An¬ 
other  Teacher  planned  wonderfully  helpful  courses 
on  “How  to  Use  Your  Bible,”  “A  Young  Man’s 
Problems,”  and  “A  Young  Man’s  Religion.” 
Courses  in  Social  Service  may  be  planned  to  cover 
conditions  existing  in  the  city  in  which  the  class  is 
located.  Courses  on  Biblical  books,  for  which  no 
special  texts  have  as  yet  been  published,  may  be 
developed  and  outlined  by  using  Commentaries  and 
Bible  Dictionaries. 

The  Teacher  will  find  it  to  his  advantage  to  have 


Building  the  Study  Course  87 

the  catalogs  of  all  publishers  of  religious  literature 
on  hand,  so  that  he  may  know  what  material  is 
available.  Many  texts  are  on  the  shelves  of  the 
Public  Library;  often  the  Library  of  a  State  Sun¬ 
day  School  Association  will  be  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Teacher.  He  should  make  it  a  point  to  examine 
personally  as  many  courses  as  possible.  He  will 
then  be  in  position  to  choose  that  which  is  best  for 
his  class,  and  that  which  he  is  best  fitted  to  teach. 


II  :  CLASSIFICATION  OF  SUGGESTED  COURSES 

The  following  classification  of  courses  for  the 
men’s  class  is  not  a  complete  list  of  all  courses 
available.  It  is  intended  to  give  the  class  inex¬ 
perienced  in  selecting  balanced  courses  a  guide  by 
which  it  may  work.  Enough  courses  are  suggested, 
however,  to  enable  any  class  to  select  such  material 
as  is  needed  for  its  individual  needs.  The  figures 
given  after  many  of  the  course  topics  indicate  the 
number  of  weeks  a  course  will  ordinarily  require. 
All  courses  are  sufficiently  flexible  to  permit  minor 
adjustments  in  length.  Publishers  are  indicated  by 
prefixes  as  follows:  A — Abingdon  Press;  B — Sun¬ 
day  School  Board  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Conven¬ 
tion;  C — University  of  Chicago  Press;  F — Society 
of  Friends;  G — International  Graded  Series;  J — 
Judson  Press;  P — Pilgrim  Press;  R — Fleming  H. 


88  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


Revell  Co.;  S — Charles  Scribner’s  Sons;  W — West¬ 
minster  Press;  Y — Association  Press. 

/.  Bible  Outline  Courses 

(A)  The  Men  of  the  Gospels — Hough. 

(B)  Studies  in  the  New  Testament — Robertson 

12. 

(B)  Heart  of  the  Old  Testament — Sampey  14. 

(B)  Churches  of  the  New  Testament — McDaniel 

11. 

(C)  Story  of  the  New  Testament — Goodspeed 

20. 

(C)  Origin  and  Teaching  of  the  New  Testament 
Books — Burton  &  Merrifield  9  to  36. 

(C)  Life  of  Paul — Robinson  12. 

(C)  Origin  and  Religious  Teaching  of  the  Old 
Testament  Books — Chamberlin  9  to  36. 
(G)  Old  Testament  Times  (Senior  Graded) 
39  or  52. 

(G)  New  Testament  Times  (Senior  Graded) 
39  or  52. 

(J)  Old  Testament  History — Airplane  View  13. 
(J)  Old  Testament  History — Nordell  52. 

(R)  Life  of  Christ — Sell  8. 

(R)  Life  of  Paul — Sell  9. 

(R)  Bible  Study  by  Books — Sell  52. 

(R)  Bible  Study  by  Periods — Sell  24. 

(R)  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels — Sell  8. 

(S)  Preparations  for  Christianity — Nordell  52. 
(W)  Teachings  of  the  Lord  Jesus — Bean. 

(Y)  Book  of  Isaiah — Robinson  15. 

II.  Intensive  Bible  Courses 

(A)  Studies  in  the  Parables  of  Jesus — Luccock. 
(A)  Students’  History  of  the  Hebrews — Knott. 


Building  the  Study  Course  89 

(B)  Gospel  of  John  (Senior  Graded)  13. 

(B)  Romans  (Senior  Graded)  13. 

(B)  Ezekiel  (Senior  Graded)  13. 

(B)  Psalms  (Senior  Graded)  13. 

(C)  Mark — Burton. 

(C)  First  Samuel — Willet  26-52. 

(C)  Life  of  Christ — Burton  &  Mathews  or  Bur¬ 
gess  39. 

(C)  The  Hebrew  Prophets — Chamberlin  36. 

(C)  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age — Gilbert. 
(C)  The  Revelation — Case  4  to  16. 

(C)  Gospel  of  John — Goodspeed  9  to  18. 

(C)  Work  of  the  Old  Testament  Sages — Harper 
9  to  36. 

(C)  Paul — a  Pioneer  in  Christian  Living  and 
Christian  Service — Goodspeed  9  to  36. 
(C)  How  to  Interpret  Old  Testament  Prophecy — 
Mathews  9  to  36. 

(Doran) — Parables  of  Our  Lord — Dods. 

(Doran) — The  Ten  Commandments — Coffin. 

(F)  Amos  (Graded  Series)  7. 

(F)  Hosea  (Graded  Series)  4. 

(F)  Isaiah  (Graded  Series)  11. 

(F)  Jeremiah  (Graded  Series)  7. 

(F)  Micah  (Graded  Series)  3. 

(F)  Hebrews  (Graded  Series)  9. 

(G)  Book  of  James  (Senior  Graded)  9. 

(G)  Book  of  Ruth  (Senior  Graded)  3. 

(J)  Old  Testament  Wisdom  13. 

(J)  Life  of  Christ — Nordell  40. 

(J)  Apostolic  Age — Nordell  30. 

(J)  The  Message  of  the  Lord’s  Prayer — Duncan. 
(P)  Joshua  and  Judges  20. 

(P)  Hebrew  Laws  6  to  20. 

(P)  The  Apocalyptic  Literature  19.  (Includes 
9  weeks  on  Daniel.) 


90  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


(P)  Old  Testament  Apocrypha  1 2. 

(P)  Life  of  Paul  19. 

(P)  Epistles  of  Paul  18. 

(P)  The  Acts  24. 

(The  above  Pilgrim  Press  Courses  are  included  in  the 
Outline  Study  Courses.) 

(R)  Syllabus  of  Old  Testament  History — Price. 

(R)  Studies  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount — 
McAfee. 

(R)  The  Man  Paul — Speer. 

(R)  The  Parables  of  the  Old  Testament — 
Macartney. 

(R)  Bible  Heroes — a  series  of  volumes  by  Dr. 

F.  B.  Meyer,  dealing  with  Abraham,  Da¬ 
vid,  Elijah,  Jacob,  Jeremiah,  Joseph, 
Joshua,  Moses,  Samuel,  Zechariah,  Paul 
and  John  the  Baptist. 

(S)  History  of  the  Hebrews — Sanders. 

(S)  The  Making  of  a  Nation — Jenks  &  Kent. 

(S)  Testing  a  Nation's  Ideals — Jenks  &  Kent. 

(The  two  courses  above  deal  with  the  history  of  Israel.) 

(S)  Life  of  Christ  (Uniform  Series)  52. 

(S)  Apostolic  Leaders  (Uniform  Series)  52. 

(S)  Patriarchs,  Kings  &  Prophets  (Uniform 
Series)  52. 

(W)  Many  Sided  David — Howard  (Adult  Elec¬ 
tive  Series)  13. 

(W)  Many  Sided  Paul — Green  (Adult  Elective 
Series)  13. 

(W)  Ten  Commandments  for  To-day — Dale. 

(W)  A  Study  of  the  Lord’s  Prayer — Richards. 

(W)  The  Message  of  Amos — Robinson  &  Mc¬ 
Afee  (Adults  Elective  Series)  13. 

(W)  The  Message  of  Deuteronomy — Luccock 
(Adults  Elective  Series)  13. 


Building  the  Study  Course  91 

(W)  The  Message  of  Galatians — Luccock  (Adults 
Elective  Series)  13. 

(Y)  Message  of  the  Twelve  Prophets — Murray 
28. 

(Y)  New  Studies  in  Acts — Bosworth  19. 

III.  Christian  Life  Courses  ( Includes  Doctrinal) 

(A)  Fundamentals  of  the  Christian  Religion — 
Halfyard. 

(A)  Program  of  the  Christian  Religion — Shack- 
ford. 

(A)  Religion  and  Life — Hull. 

(A)  The  Man  of  Power — Hough  12. 

(A)  Christianity  and  World  Democracy — Heber 
13- 

(A)  A  Man’s  Religion — McDowell. 

(A)  The  Liquor  Problem — Richardson. 

(A)  Studies  in  Recent  Adventism — Sheldon. 

(A)  Christian  Science — So-Called — Sheldon. 

(A)  A  Four-Fold  Test  of  Mormonism — Sheldon. 
(A)  Theosophy  and  New  Thought — Sheldon. 

(A)  The  Mystery  Religions  of  the  New  Testa¬ 

ment — Sheldon. 

(B)  Training  in  Bible  Study — Dawes  10. 

(C)  Religious  Education  in  the  Family — Cope. 
(C)  Christian  Faith  for  Men  of  To-day — Cook. 
(C)  What  Is  Christianity? — Cross. 

(C)  The  Realities  of  the  Christian  Religion — 
Smith-Soares  9-36. 

(C)  Paul — a  Pioneer  in  Christian  Living  and 
Christian  Service — Goodspeed  9-36, 

(J)  Old  Testament  Character  Crises — 13. 

(J)  Old  Testament  Evangelism  13. 

(J)  The  Church  a  Field  of  Service — Rust. 

(J)  The  Young  Christian  and  His  Bible — Geist- 
weit  10-25. 


92 


The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

(J)  Christianity  in  a  New  World — Burton. 

(J)  The  Young  Christian  and  His  Work — 
Grenell. 

(J)  A  Young  Man’s  Difficulties  with  His  Bible — 
Faunce. 

(J)  Principles  of  Christian  Service — Cope  io. 
(R)  Christian  Ethics — Davidson. 

(R)  Studies  in  the  Life  of  a  Christian — Sell  14. 
(R)  Studies  in  Vital  Questions — Sell  16. 

(R)  Bible  Study  by  Doctrines — Sell  24. 

(R)  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind — Coe. 

(R)  How  to  Study  the  English  Bible — Cudle- 

stone. 

(S)  The  Modern  Church — Nordell  (Senior 

Graded). 

(W)  Christian  According  to  Paul — Faris  (Adult 
Elective  Series). 

(W)  Paul’s  Message  for  To-day — Miller. 

(W)  A  Christian’s  Habits — Speer. 

(W)  A  Young  Man’s  Questions — Speer. 

(W)  Money,  the  Acid  Test — McConaughy. 

(W)  The  Christian  Home  (Adult  Elective  Se¬ 
ries)  13. 

(W)  Elements  of  Personal  Christianity — Luc- 
cock  (Adult  Elective  Series)  13. 

(W)  Characteristics  of  the  Christian  Life  (Adult 
Elective  Series)  13. 

(W)  The  Christian  in  Social  Relationships 
(Adult  Elective  Series)  13. 

(W)  Fundamentals  for  Daily  Living  (Adult 
Elective  Series)  13. 

(W)  Fundamentals  of  Christian  Experience 
(Adult  Elective  Series)  13. 

(Y)  Christ  in  Every-Day  Life — Bosworth. 

(Y)  Christian  Basis  of  World  Democracy — La- 
Tourette  12. 


Building  the  Study  Course  93 

(Y)  Christianity  and  Amusements — Edwards  io. 
(Y)  How  God  Calls  Men — Harris. 

(Y)  How  Jesus  Met  Life  Questions — Elliot. 

(Y)  International  Aspects  of  Christianity— 
Davis. 

(Y)  Marks  of  a  World  Christian — Fleming. 

(Y)  Meaning  of  Faith — Fosdick  13. 

(Y)  Meaning  of  Prayer — Fosdick  10. 

(Y)  Meaning  of  Service — Fosdick  12. 

(Y)  Manhood  of  the  Master — Fosdick  10. 

(Y)  Meeting  the  Master — Davis. 

(Y)  Psalms  of  the  Social  Life — McAfee. 

IV.  Church  History 

(C)  Christianity  and  Its  Bible — Waring. 

(C)  Great  Men  of  the  Christian  Church — 
Walker. 

(C)  How  the  Bible  Grew — Lewis. 

(J)  Church  History  by  Periods — Vedder. 

(J)  History  of  the  English  Bible — Pattison. 

(P)  History  of  Bible  Versions — Wood  15. 

(P)  Church  History  15. 

(P)  The  Church  in  the  Reformation  7. 

(P)  History  of  Missions  4. 

(Pilgrim  Press  Outline  Study  Courses.) 

(R)  History  of  the  Christian  Church — Moncrief. 
(R)  The  Missionary  Enterprise — Bliss. 

(R)  Studies  in  Early  Church  History — Sell. 

(R)  Landmarks  in  Church  History — Carver. 

(R)  Early  Church  History — Bartlett. 

(S)  Landmarks  in  Church  History — Rowe  52. 
(W)  Church  History  in  Brief — Moffat. 

(W)  Growth  of  the  Christian  Church — Nichols. 
(W)  Sketches  of  Church  History — Wharey. 

(W)  How  We  Got  Our  Bible— Smythe. 


94  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 

Note: — Every  class  should  study  the  history  of 
its  own  denomination  and  the  principles  for  which 
its  church  stands.  Suitable  texts  are  available  at 
the  denominational  boards. 

V.  Social  Service  and  Missions 

(B)  Country  Church  in  the  South — Masters  8. 
(B)  Making  America  Christian — Masters  6. 

(B)  All  the  World  in  All  the  World — Carver  1 2. 

(C)  Social  Duties  from  the  Christian  Point  of 

View — Henderson. 

(C)  Message  of  Jesus  to  Our  Modern  Life — 
Mathews  9  to  36. 

(C)  Message  of  the  Prophets  to  the  20th  Cen¬ 
tury — Willet  9  to  36. 

(C)  Religions  of  the  World — Barton  20. 

(G)  The  Bible  and  Social  Living  (4th  Year 
Senior)  52. 

May  be  used  as  the  following  short  courses  if  desired: 

1.  The  Family  6. 

2.  The  Community  6. 

3.  The  State  6. 

4.  The  Church  6. 

5.  The  Industrial  Order  13. 

6.  Bible  Spokesmen  for  the  Kingdom  of 

God  13. 

(J)  Social  Principles  of  Jesus — Rauschenbusch. 
(J)  Social  Ideals  of  the  Lord’s  Prayer — Stack- 
house. 

(J)  Christ  and  the  Nations — Batten  13. 

(J)  Christianity  in  a  New  World — Burton. 

(J)  By-paths  to  Forgotten  Folks — Hayne. 

(J)  Redemption  of  the  City — Sears. 

(J)  The  Social  Gospel — Mathews. 

(J)  Stewardship  and  Missions — Cook. 


Building  the  Study  Course  95 

(J)  2,000  years  of  Missions  Before  Carey — 
Barnes. 

(P)  Problems  of  the  20th  Century  City — Burr 
25- 

(P)  A  Study  of  the  City — Hall  14. 

(Pilgrim  Press  Outline  Study  Courses.) 

(R)  Missionary  Enterprise — Bliss. 

(R)  Missions  in  the  Plan  of  the  Ages — Carver. 
(R)  Modern  Missionary  Challenge — Jones. 

(R)  Appeal  of  Medical  Missions — Moorshead. 
(R)  Nineteen  Centuries  of  Missions — Scudder. 
(R)  Missionary  Principles  and  Practices — Speer. 
(R)  Christianity  and  Other  Faiths — Tisdall. 

(R)  Social  Task  of  Christianity — Batten. 

(S)  The  Conquering  Christ — Boone  52. 

May  be  used  as  four  short  courses : 

1.  Comparative  Religion  13. 

2.  Eastern  Missions  13. 

3.  Western  Missions  13. 

4.  The  Business  of  Missions  13. 

(W)  Money,  the  Acid  Test — McConaughy. 

(Y)  Faiths  of  Mankind — Soper  12. 

All  the  denominational  boards  publish  text-books 
and  other  literature  pertaining  to  their  own  fields. 
So,  too,  the  Missionary  Education  Movement  of 
North  America,  and  the  Women’s  Council  publish 
annually  texts  covering  specific  home  and  foreign 
fields.  The  following  are  some  typical  publications : 

Challenge  of  the  City — Strong  8. 

Challenge  of  the  Country — Fiske. 

Immigrant  Forces — Shriver. 

Aliens  or  Americans — Grose  8. 


96  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


The  Bible  and  Missions — Montgomery  6. 

The  Church  and  the  Community — Diffendoerfer  6. 
Christian  Americanization — Brooks  6. 

The  Why  and  How  of  Foreign  Missions — 
Brown  6. 

The  Kingdom  and  the  Nations — North  6. 

The  Lure  of  Africa — Patton  6. 

The  Uplift  of  China — Smith  8. 

India  Awakening — Eddy  8. 

Building  with  India — Fleming  6. 

The  Trend  of  the  Races  (Negro) — Haynes. 


Ill  :  EXAMPLES  OF  COURSES  THAT  HAVE  BEEN  USED 

The  courses  outlined  below  have  actually  been 
used  by  organized  Men’s  Bible  Classes.  It  is  not 
likely  that  any  one  of  these  courses  will  suit  other 
classes  just  as  they  stand,  but  they  do  show  how 
balanced  courses  have  been  planned.  The  figures 
following  the  course  subjects  indicate  the  number 
of  weeks  in  the  course.  The  number  of  weeks  do 
not  always  total  52 — the  weeks  not  indicated  were 
used  for  Christmas,  Easter  and  Rally  Day  Pro¬ 
grams  or  were  alloted  to  special  outside  speakers. 

Heart  of  the  Old  Testament — 12  (Bible  Outline). 

Mexico  To-day — 6  (Missions). 

Pastoral  Epistles — 7  (Intensive  Bible  Study). 

Challenge  of  St.  Louis — 11  (Social  Service). 

How  We  Got  Our  Bible — 9  (Church  History). 

(The  Influenza  epidemic  caused  the  cessation  of  class 
sessions  for  five  weeks.) 


Building  the  Study  Course  97 

Life  of  Christ — 9  (Bible  Outline). 

Epistle  of  James — 9  (Intensive) 

Lure  of  Africa — 8  (Missions). 

Bible  Spokesmen  for  the  Kingdom  of  God — 12 
(Social  Service). 

Wisdom  Literature  11  (B.  O.  and  Intensive). 

International  Peace — 13  (Christian  Life). 

Life  of  Paul — 11  (Bible  Outline). 

Immigration — 8  (Missions). 

Re-Statement  of  Baptist  Principles — 10  (Chris¬ 
tian  Life). 

Social  Teachings  of  Jesus — 10  (Social  Service). 

How  to  Use  Your  Bible — 13  (Christian  Life). 
Challenge  of  St.  Louis — 13  (Social  Service). 
Bible  Biographies — 13  (Intensive). 

Story  of  the  New  Testament — 13  (Bible  Outline). 

The  Meaning  of  Service — 13  (Christian  Life). 
Gospel  of  John — 13  (Intensive). 

Amos — 13  (Intensive  and  Christian  Life). 
Survey  of  Western  Missions — 13  (Missions  and 
Social  Service). 

History  of  Religion — 12  (Church  History  and 
Missions. 

Hebrew  Law — 6  (Intensive). 

The  Family — 7  (Christian  Life  and  Social  Serv¬ 
ice). 

The  Church  and  the  Community — 6  (Social 
Service). 

The  Bible  and  Money — 6  (Christian  Life). 
Romans — 13  (Intensive). 


98 


The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

Hosea — 8  (Intensive). 

Life  of  Christ — 13  (Bible  Outline). 

David — 13  (Intensive). 

Redemption  of  the  City — 8  (Social  Service). 
What  It  Means  to  be  a  Christian — 8  (Christian 
Life). 

Christian  Americanization — 6  (Social  Service). 
Story  of  the  New  Testament — 17  (Bible  Outline). 
Survey  of  Baptist  Missions — 9  (Missions). 

What  it  Means  to  be  a  Christian — 11  (Christian 
Life). 

Psalms — 7  (Intensive). 

Life  of  Christ — 13  (Bible  Outline). 

Baptist  Principles — 8  (Christian  Life). 
Immigration — 13  (Missions). 

A  Young  Man’s  Problems — 13  (Christian  Life). 
The  Bible  and  Money — 4  (Intensive). 


It  will  be  seen  that  in  no  case  has  it  happened 
that  all  the  five  groups  of  subjects  mentioned  in  the 
previous  chapter,  have  been  included  in  one  year’s 
course.  While  there  should  be  considerable  pure 
Bible  study  in  each  year’s  series,  yet  it  does  not  fol¬ 
low  that  there  must  be  an  outline  course  each  year 
— the  class  may  find  it  advisable  to  skip  a  year,  de¬ 
voting  the  time  to  more  intensive  study.  So,  too, 
it  is  hardly  likely  that  there  will  be  a  Church  His¬ 
tory  course  each  year.  If  the  course  is  one  like 
Proverbs,  or  James,  both  intensely  practical  books, 
the  class  may  not  need  another  Christian  Life  course 


Building  the  Study  Course  99 

during  that  season.  Each  class  must  decide  what 
it  is  that  it  needs  most,  and  then  plan  the  course 
accordingly.  Class  study  is  always  made  for  the 
class — not  the  class  for  the  study.  The  suggestions 
given  in  this  chapter  should  enable  the  Teacher  or 
Lesson  Course  Committee  to  plan  suitable,  balanced 
courses  to  give  the  members  the  spiritual  food  they 
need. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Wood,  “Adult  Class  Study,”  Part  II. 


Chapter  Seven 


EXECUTIVE  LEADERSHIP  IN  THE  CLASS 

I :  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  A  CLASS  PRESIDENT 

Character 

NEXT  to  the  Teacher,  the  President  is  the  most 
important  officer  of  the  class.  He  is  the 
spokesman  for  the  class  at  all  times  and  by  him  the 
class  is  judged. 

The  President  should  first  of  all  and  above  all  be 
a  Christian  Man.  He  should  be  a  member  of  the 
church  in  which  he  is  working.  He  should  be  an 
every  day  Christian.  He  should  be  a  man  of  sin¬ 
cere  Christian  convictions,  a  lover  of  the  Bible  and 
known  for  his  prayer  life.  No  man  without  these 
qualifications  can  hope  to  be  a  successful  President 
of  a  class  of  men  in  the  Sunday  School,  no  matter 
how  much  executive  ability  he  may  have.  There 
comes  to  the  writer’s  mind  the  recollection  of  a 
young  men’s  Bible  Class  whose  President  indulged 
in  the  most  vulgar  thinking  and  in  the  vilest  lan¬ 
guage  while  outside  of  the  class  room.  Is  it  sur¬ 
prising  that  there  was  brought  upon  the  class  and 

upon  its  church  only  ridicule  and  contempt? 

100 


Executive  Leadership  in  the  Class  101 

Executive  Ability 

If  necessary  to  choose  between  a  Christian  man 
without  executive  ability  and  a  non-Christian  with 
executive  ability,  the  choice  should  unquestionably 
fall  upon  the  former.  The  ability  to  lead  and  to 
direct  is,  however,  essential  to  class  growth.  There 
are  many  good  Christian  young  men  who  make 
excellent  workers  if  wisely  directed,  but  who  have 
not  the  ability  to  lead.  These  men,  unless  they 
make  strenuous  efforts  to  develop  the  qualities  of 
leadership,  will  not  do  good  work  as  class  execu¬ 
tives.  The  President  must  be  able  to  put  every 
member  of  the  class  to  work;  he  must  be  ever  alert 
to  see  that  every  officer  is  filling  his  job  to  the  best 
of  his  ability;  he  must  have  good  common-sense 
judgment  to  meet  the  many  situations  that  arise 
from  week  to  week  in  the  class;  he  must  have  exec¬ 
utive  ability  so  as  to  plan  future  work  for  the  class, 
and  to  see  that  it  is  carried  to  a  satisfactory  con¬ 
clusion. 

Personality 

Personality,  too,  should  be  considered  in  select¬ 
ing  the  presiding  officer  of  the  class.  By  person¬ 
ality  we  mean  that  which  distinguishes  or  differ¬ 
entiates  one — that  indefinable  something  in  a  man 
which  causes  him  to  be  liked  or  disliked.  Person¬ 
ality  is  largely  dependent  upon  the  so-called  little 


102  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


things  of  life.  The  class  leader,  for  instance, 
should  be  a  leader ,  not  a  boss.  Members  ordinar¬ 
ily  resent  being  bossed,  but  will  usually  respond 
willingly  to  the  right  sort  of  leadership.  To  secure 
response  the  President  must  first  establish  a  will¬ 
ingness  on  his  own  part  to  serve.  Trying  to  talk 
service  into  the  other  fellow  without  action  to  back 
it,  is  a  certain  means  of  killing  the  embryonic 
germ. 

The  class  President  must  exhibit  a  warmth  of 
friendship  toward  each  and  every  member;  he  must 
be  no  less  interested  in  the  class  members  than  the 
Teacher,  for  he  is  a  spiritual  leader  as  well  as  an 
executive.  The  physical  bearing  of  the  President 
must  also  be  watched.  His  clothes  must  be  kept 
spotless  and  neat  or  he  will  lose  the  respect  of  the 
members.  He  should  maintain  an  erect,  alert  busi¬ 
ness-like  attitude  before  the  class,  not  lounging  on 
tables  or  other  furniture.  A  drowsy  appearance  on 
the  part  of  the  presiding  officer  is  not  likely  to  stir 
the  class  to  wakeful  activity. 

Enthusiasm,  energy  and  initiative  are  the 
basic  elements  of  good  leadership.  Coupled  closely 
to  them  is  self-reliance.  These  qualities  may  not 
all  be  present  in  every  presiding  officer.  If  all  of 
these  elements  are  found  in  any  class  President,  for¬ 
tunate  is  the  class  possessing  him.  Every  class 
leader  should  strive  to  develop  these  qualities,  for 


Executive  Leadership  in  the  Class  103 

they  can  be  developed  by  persistence  in  doing  the 
things  expected  of  him. 

Knowledge  of  the  Work 

The  class  President  should  have  in  addition  to 
the  aforementioned  qualifications,  a  knowledge  of 
the  aims  of  the  men's  class ,  its  needs,  the 
methods  of  work  and  the  materials  with  which  the 
work  is  done.  He  should  read  all  available  litera¬ 
ture  on  the  work  of  the  organized  Bible  Class,  mis¬ 
sions,  social  service,  and  the  like.  It  would  be  ad¬ 
visable  for  the  President  to  visit  other  organized 
classes  occasionally  and  observe  the  methods  used 
by  them.  If,  because  of  the  needs  of  the  class,  the 
President  cannot  make  these  visits  himself,  he 
should  delegate  some  of  his  assistants  to  do  this 
work.  Care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  only  one  or 
two  members  are  away  from  the  class  on  any  one 
Sunday,  so  that  the  attendance  is  not  seriously  af¬ 
fected.  The  President  should  also  keep  in  touch 
with  the  work  of  the  other  departments  of  the  Sun¬ 
day  School  and  the  Church.  He  should  be  familiar 
with  the  ideas  and  ideals  being  worked  out,  so  as  to 
be  in  a  position  to  lead  the  class  in  hearty  coopera¬ 
tion  with  all  general  plans. 

Knowledge  of  Membership 

Finally,  the  President  should  know  the  class  mem¬ 
bers.  He  should  study  each  individual  man  in  the 


104  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 

class.  He  should  know  their  likes  and  dislikes, 
their  abilities  and  limitations.  He  should  be  able 
to  suggest  men  as  assistants  to  the  several  officers 
at  any  time.  The  President  should  aim  to  see  that 
every  man  is  at  work  as  an  assistant  to  some  officer. 
It  is  well  in  the  larger  classes  to  keep  a  card  or  note¬ 
book  record  of  the  members,  their  abilities  and  will¬ 
ingness  to  serve. 

II.  THE  SUNDAY  SESSION 

The  class  President  has  charge  of  the  Sunday 
morning  sessions.  This  is  not  a  part  of  the 
Teacher’s  duty.  In  too  many  cases  the  Teacher, 
who  often  happens  to  be  the  Pastor,  opens  the  class 
session,  asks  for  the  reports,  makes  announcements, 
discusses  class  business  and  teaches  the  lesson. 
Yes,  this  has  actually  been  known  to  happen!  This 
tendency  is  bad;  it  makes  the  class  too  much  of  a 
one  man  affair.  This  is  also  true  about  the  class 
discussions.  While  the  Teacher  and  the  Pastor 
should  give  their  views,  and  should  have  them  re¬ 
spected,  yet  the  feeling  should  be  encouraged  that 
the  work  of  the  class  is  in  charge  of  the  class,  and 
not  wholly  in  charge  of  the  Teacher. 

Upon  the  President  rests  the  responsibility  of 
keeping  the  real  purpose  of  the  class,  Bible  study, 
from  being  eclipsed.  He  must  strive  to  avoid  the 


Executive  Leadership  in  the  Class  105 

waste  of  time  entailed  by  frequent  long  discus¬ 
sions  on  business  matters.  The  Teacher’s  Time 
Should  Be  Carefully  Guarded.  The  class  ses¬ 
sion  should  be  started  on  time,  if  only  two  are  pres¬ 
ent.  The  announcements  should  be  brief  and  to  the 
point.  All  secular  business  should  be  kept  out  and 
transacted  at  the  regular  business  meetings. 

The  Sunday  session  should  be  of  a  devotional 
spirit.  The  class  should  have  a  well  worked  out 
program  to  be  followed.  No  President  should  ever 
stand  before  the  class  without  a  definitely  planned 
order  for  the  day’s  exercises.  This  order  of  service 
may  be  adapted  to  any  needs  of  the  class;  no  set 
program  can  be  given  that  will  suit  all  classes.  If 
the  class  meets  with  the  Adult  Department,  the 
opening  worship  program  will  be  taken  care  of 
there.  If  not,  the  class  must  formulate  its  own 
worship  service.  This  will  include  singable  songs 
that  men  like,  including  a  class  song,  devotional 
prayers  for  the  class  work  and  for  sick  members; 
and  possibly  a  brief  devotional  message  brought  by 
some  member.  Announcements  should  be  made  at 
the  beginning  of  the  session,  so  that  the  Teacher’s 
message  is  the  final  impression  on  the  minds  of 
those  present.  The  whole  worship  program  should 
be  planned  to  lead  the  men  into  an  atmosphere  to 
receive  the  lesson  of  the  day. 


106  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


A  Typical  Class  Program 

9:15  President  on  hand  for  preliminary  consulta¬ 
tion  with  other  officers. 

Vice-President  at  assembly-room  door  to 
welcome  strangers. 

Visitor  on  hand  to  welcome  members. 

(Assistants  in  class-room  to  welcome  any 
who  may  come  there  direct.) 

Librarian  distributes  Bibles,  song  books, 
lesson  outlines,  in  class-room. 

Teacher,  Treasurer,  Reporter,  Entertainer, 
arrange  charts,  announcements  on  black¬ 
board,  etc. 

9 130  Opening  worship  with  Senior  or  Adult 
Department. 

9 :45  Class  retires  to  class-room. 

Secretary  at  door  to  pass  out  attendance 
slips  and  collection  envelopes. 

President  calls  class  to  order. 

Prayer  by  a  member. 

Reports  of  Vice-President  and  Visitor 
(brief). 

Welcoming  new  members  and  assigning- 
prospects. 

Report  of  Secretary  and  Treasurer  (brief). 

10:00  Class  Song. 

10:05  Current  Topic  Talk — by  a  member — or 
special  devotional  feature. 


Executive  Leadership  in  the  Class  107 

10:10  Lesson  Period. 

10:45  Closing  Song  and  Prayer. 

10:50  Adjourn  to  Preaching  Service. 

Many  Presidents  are  failures  in  the  matter  of 
introducing  special  speakers.  These  introductions 
should  be  brief,  pointed  and  snappy.  The  Presi¬ 
dent  should  not  go  into  detail  regarding  the  history 
of  the  speaker.  All  such  details  should  be  taken 
care  of  in  the  preliminary  advertising.  A  brief 
statement  of  who  and  what  the  man  is  and  what 
he  is  to  talk  about,  supplemented  by  a  bright,  pointed 
anecdote  will  usually  suffice.  After  all,  the  class 
wants  to  hear  the  speaker,  not  the  chairman’s  long- 
winded  introduction.  Under  no  circumstances  in¬ 
troduce  a  speaker  by  reading  a  lengthy  history  of  his 
life  from  notes,  as  many  chairman  have  been  known 
to  do. 


Ill:  BUSINESS  SESSIONS 

Regular  business  meetings  are  essential  to 
class  success.  Monthly  meetings  are  desirable,  but 
some  classes  find  bi-monthly  and  quarterly  meetings 
entirely  satisfactory.  One  thriving  class  of  busy 
men  has  semi-annual  meetings.  Provide  for  as 
frequent  meetings  as  the  members  can  attend — but 
let  them  be  regular.  All  class  business  should  be 
transacted  at  the  business  meetings,  leaving  the 


108  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


Sunday  service  for  the  study  of  God’s  word. 
The  business  meeting  should  be  planned  just  as 
carefully  as  any  Sunday  session.  The  by-laws 
should  provide  an  order  of  business  to  facilitate  the 
handling  of  class  business.  The  following  is  sug¬ 
gested,  but  may  be  altered  to  suit  conditions  in  the 
class. 

1.  Call  to  order. 

2.  Prayer. 

3.  Reading  of  minutes  of  previous  meeting. 

4.  Reports  of  officers  and  special  committees. 

5.  Unfinished  business. 

6.  New  business. 

7.  Elections. 

8.  Adjournment. 

9.  Social  hour. 

As  in  the  case  with  the  Sunday  meetings,  the  bus¬ 
iness  meeting  should  be  called  to  order  promptly. 
When  the  habit  of  punctuality  is  once  established, 
waste  time  is  eliminated  and  difficulty  regarding 
attendance  reduced  to  a  minimum.  Foolishness 
should  not  be  a  part  of  the  business  session.  Mem¬ 
bers  sometimes  feel  that  the  business  session  should 
be  made  part  of  the  scheme  of  entertainment.  This 
should  not  be.  By  all  means  have  a  portion  of  the 
evening  set  aside  for  fellowship  and  social  features, 
but  let  it  be  understood  that  business  meetings  are 
for  business.  Many  men  do  not  attend  business 


Executive  Leadership  in  the  Class  109 

meetings  for  the  reason  that  so  much  time  is  wasted 
during  the  business  period,  that  the  social  features 
are  brought  to  a  close  rather  late.  They  do  not 
feel  that  they  can  afford  so  much  time.  As  soon  as 
our  organized  classes  realize  this,  the  attendance  at 
business  meetings  will  increase. 

IV  :  EXECUTIVE  MEETINGS 

Of  equal  importance  with  the  regular  business 
meetings,  are  the  meetings  of  the  executive  board. 
The  President  should  make  the  officers  his  advisors 
and  helpers  in  all  important  matters.  While  each 
officer  should  be  given  freedom  in  the  conduct  of 
his  office,  there  are  class  problems  and  plans  that 
demand  the  attention  of  all  the  officers  rather  than 
some  of  them.  Such  matters  as  a  class-day  service, 
class  banquet,  reunion  or  the  like,  need  the  cooper¬ 
ative  planning  of  the  whole  board.  The  carrying 
out  of  the  plans  as  formulated  by  the  board  can 
then  be  left  to  the  individual  officers.  These  details 
of  larger  plans  can  be  worked  out  better  and  more 
expeditiously  in  an  officers’  meeting  than  in  a  gen¬ 
eral  business  meeting.  The  officers  will  of  course 
submit  a  completed  outline  of  their  work  to  the  class 
for  approval.  The  meetings  of  the  officers  should 
be  held  regularly,  once  a  month  if  possible,  just  be¬ 
fore  the  regular  class  meeting. 


110  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


v:  FUNDAMENTALS  OF  PARLIAMENTARY  PRACTICE 

If  he  is  not  familiar  with  parliamentary  proced¬ 
ure,  the  new  President  should  take  steps  at  once  to 
learn  its  rudiments.  All  business  of  the  class  should 
be  conducted  in  accord  with  recognized  principles 
of  parliamentary  law,  the  only  expeditious  way  of 
handling  class  affairs.  The  following  brief  out¬ 
line  of  parliamentary  practice,  based  on  King’s 
“Practical  Parliamentary  Guide,”  includes  those  es¬ 
sentials  that  will  enable  a  President  to  conduct  a 
meeting  of  the  Men’s  Bible  Class.  No  elaborate 
system  is  needed  as  in  state  legislatures  and  the 
Houses  of  Congress,  yet  the  basis  in  both  cases  is 
the  same.  These  suggestions  are  sufficient  for  all 
ordinary  purposes. 

Before  any  business  can  be  transacted  a  quorum 
must  be  present.  The  number  that  shall  constitute 
a  quorum  should  be  fixed  by  the  by-laws — at  least 
25  per  cent  of  the  class  membership  should  be  re¬ 
quired.  Without  this  provision,  a  very  few  mem¬ 
bers  might  very  easily  manipulate  the  whole  organi¬ 
zation. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  floor  to  present  a  propo¬ 
sition  or  to  speak  on  a  question  it  is  necessary  for 
the  speaker  to  arise  and  address  the  chairman  by 
his  official  title;  the  chair  will  recognize  the  claim¬ 
ant  for  the  floor  by  name  or  by  nod.  This  recog- 


Executive  Eeadership  in  the  Class  111 

nition  is  required  before  any  one  is  entitled  to 
present  a  question  or  take  part  in  debate. 

To  place  a  proposition  before  the  class  for  con¬ 
sideration  it  is  only  necessary  after  being  recog¬ 
nized  to  say,  “Mr.  President,  I  move  that . ,” 

stating  in  simple  words  the  action  that  is  desired. 
No  discussion  should  be  permitted  before  a  motion 
has  been  made.  Every  principal  motion  must  be 
seconded  by  another  member  of  the  class,  or  it  can¬ 
not  go  before  the  assembly,  this  rule  being  based  on 
the  theory  that  it  is  unwise  to  waste  the  time  of  the 
assembly  on  a  proposition  favored  by  only  one  mem¬ 
ber.  No  principal  motion  may  be  made  while  an¬ 
other  motion  is  before  the  house,  but  all  principal 
motions  are  subject  to  certain  motions  of  higher 
rank. 

The  time  of  class  business  meetings  should  be 
fixed  by  the  by-laws.  If  for  any  reason  the  class 
fixes  the  time  from  meeting  to  meeting,  a  motion 
to  set  this  time  takes  rank  over  any  other  motion 
that  may  be  before  the  house.  This  motion  re¬ 
quires  no  quorum,  cannot  be  debated,  cannot  be 
used  to  change  the  time  of  a  meeting  already  set, 
and  is  in  order  even  if  a  motion  to  adjourn  has 
been  placed,  but  the  vote  not  announced  by  the 
chair. 

As  soon  as  a  motion  has  been  made  and  before 
any  debate  has  taken  place,  a  member  may  move  the 


112  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


question  of  consideration.  No  second  is  required, 
but  a  two-thirds  negative  vote  is  necessary  to  stop 
consideration  of  the  question.  This  motion  may 
be  reconsidered. 

A  motion  to  withdraw  the  question  before  the 
house  can  be  made  any  time  before  it  has  been 
amended  or  voted  upon.  This  motion  cannot  be 
debated,  but  may  be  set  aside  by  an  objection  to 
consideration.  A  two-thirds  vote  is  necessary  to 
withdraw  a  motion. 

If  a  question  consists  of  several  separate  and  dis¬ 
tinct  parts,  a  motion  may  be  made  to  divide  the 
question.  If  it  carries,  each  separate  part  is  handled 
as  a  principal  motion.  No  debate  or  amending  is 
permitted  on  this  motion. 

The  class  has  the  right  to  change  any  proposal 
brought  before  it  by  amending  the  original  motion. 
As  many  as  two  amendments  may  be  put  on  one 
motion.  If  amendments  are  voted  down,  others 
may  be  proposed  until  two  have  carried.  In  vot¬ 
ing,  the  second  amendment  is  voted  on  first,  then 
the  first  and  finally  the  principal  question  with 
whatever  changes  the  class  may  have  made. 

A  motion  to  fix  the  manner  of  voting  can  be  used 
on  any  question,  but  can  be  neither  debated  nor 
amended. 

The  previous  question  is  moved  in  order  to  stop 
debate.  It  requires  a  two-thirds  vote  to  pass  and 


Executive  Leadership  in  the  Class  113 

cannot  be  debated,  amended,  or  applied  to  more 
than  one  question  at  a  time.  The  previous  question 
does  not  necessarily  force  a  vote — the  principal 
question  may  be  tabled  or  referred  to  a  department 
head  or  committee.  A  motion  to  refer  the  ques¬ 
tion  may  be  debated. 

When  it  is  desired  to  postpone  action  upon  a 
question,  after  discussion  has  taken  place  a  motion 
may  be  made  to  ulay  it  on  the  table,”  which  may  be 
for  a  definite  time  or  indefinitely.  If  tabled  in¬ 
definitely  it  is  virtually  killing  the  proposition,  a 
motion  to  take  from  the  table  being  necessary  to 
bring  it  before  the  class  for  discussion.  If  it  is 
desired  to  postpone  action  before  discussion,  a  mo¬ 
tion  to  postpone  for  a  definite  or  indefinite  time  is 
required. 

A  member  may  move  for  the  reconsideration  of 
a  question  already  acted  upon  by  the  class.  The 
motion  must  be  proposed  by  a  member  of  the  pre¬ 
vailing  side  at  the  time  the  question  was  first  con¬ 
sidered,  but  cannot  be  made  during  the  same 
meeting. 

In  order  to  permit  special  action  that  may  be  con¬ 
trary  to  the  class  by-laws  or  constitution,  the  class 
may,  by  a  two-thirds  vote,  move  to  suspend  its  rules. 
This  motion  cannot  be  amended  or  debated. 

A  motion  for  adjournment  may  be  made  against 
any  question  before  the  assembly,  but  not  while  a 


114  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


member  is  on  the  floor.  In  case  of  failure  of  the 
motion,  it  cannot  be  renewed  until  progress  has 
been  made.  This  motion  may  be  debated  as  a  prin¬ 
cipal  question  only  if  the  time  of  the  next  meeting 
has  not  been  set. 

A  member  may  at  any  time  rise  to  a  point  of 
personal  privilege  if  he  feels  that  his  rights  are  be¬ 
ing  interfered  with,  or  that  an  attack  is  being  made 
on  his  character,  or  if  he  desires  to  be  excused  from 
the  meeting  for  good  reason.  The  chair  decides  the 
question  of  privilege,  but  if  it  is  a  case  of  con¬ 
troversy,  the  assembly  must  decide  the  question 
before  business  can  continue. 

If,  in  the  judgment  of  some  member,  a  parlia¬ 
mentary  law  or  some  provision  of  the  class  consti¬ 
tution  is  being  violated  he  should  “rise  to  a  point 
of  order.”  The  chair  decides  whether  or  not  the 
point  is  well  taken,  and  if  it  is,  calls  the  offending 
party  to  order. 

In  all  cases  of  “points  of  privilege”  and  “points 
of  order,”  the  members  involved  may  appeal  from 
the  decision  of  the  chair.  In  the  case  of  a  point 
of  order  the  appeal  must  be  seconded.  The  chair 
then  asks,  “Shall  the  decision  of  the  chair  stand?” 
A  two-thirds  vote  should  be  required  to  overrule 
any  decision  of  the  chair. 

When  a  member  desires  information  about  the 
question  being  discussed,  or  about  the  parliamentary 


Executive  Leadership  in  the  Class  115 

procedure  governing  the  question  he  should  “rise 
to  a  point  of  information.’’  This  point  takes  rank 
above  debate. 

A  careful  study  of  these  few  basic  rules  of  par¬ 
liamentary  practice  will  show  that  they  are  based 
on  common-sense  business  methods.  There  are  of 
course  many  refinements  to  the  practice  given  above, 
with  which  the  President  should  gradually  strive  to 
become  familiar,  but  the  suggestions  given  here  will 
enable  any  class  President  to  conduct  meetings  in 
proper  order  and  without  waste  of  time. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Strickland-McGlothlin,  “Building  the  Bible  Class,” 
First  Division,  Chapter  V. 

Strickland,  “The  Class  Officers  and  Their  Work,” 
pp.  4-1 1.  (Leaflet  from  Sunday  School  Board — S.  B.  C.) 

Wells,  “The  Ideal  Adult  Class,”  Chapter  X. 

Barclay,  “Adult  Worker  and  His  Work,”  Chapter 
XVII. 

Blick,  “The  Adult  Department,”  Chapter  XV. 

Bovard,  “Adults  in  the  Sunday  School,”  Chapters 
VIII,  XI,  XIII. 

King,  “A  Practical  Parliamentary  Guide.” 

Robert,  J.  T.,  “Primer  of  Parliamentary  Law.” 

Longan,  “Parliamentary  Rules  Made  Easy.” 

Howe,  “Handbook  of  Parliamentary  Usage.” 

“The  O.  A.  B.  C.  at  Work”;  “ioi  Things  ioi  Bible 
Classes  Are  Doing”  (Leaflets — International  Sunday 
School  Council.) 


Chapter  Eight 


THE  CLASS’S  SPIRITUAL  SERVICE 

THE  class  President  is  not  only  the  executive, 
but  the  spiritual  leader  as  well.  In  this  branch 
of  his  work  he  will,  of  course,  work  in  close 
harmony  with  the  Teacher. 

i:  PERSONAL  EVANGELISM 

Requirements 

Contrary  to  common  belief,  personal  evangelism 
is  not  a  mysterious  rite,  but  simply  starting  at  home 
to  fulfill  Christ’s  last  command.  A  prayer  life  is 
essential  to  successful  evangelism;  without  it  all  ef¬ 
forts  fail.  Tact  is  another  requisite;  patience  must 
be  used  in  dealing  with  prospects.  Too  much 
should  not  be  expected  at  once,  but  if  the  evan¬ 
gelistic  work  is  well  handled,  results  will  be  sur¬ 
prising. 

The  President  should  appoint  several  assistants 
to  secure  information  about  the  members,  their  likes 
and  dislikes,  and  their  attitudes  toward  Christian 
profession.  These  assistants,  with  the  President, 
should  endeavor  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  un¬ 
saved  men  of  the  class.  Having  done  this,  it  is  an 

easy  matter  to  speak  to  a  man  about  becoming  a 

116 


The  Class’s  Spiritual  Service  117 

Christian.  Fear  has  been  the  greatest  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  greater  evangelistic  results  among  men. 
Contrary  to  a  common  belief,  men  usually  welcome 
the  opportunity  to  speak  of  their  soul’s  welfare. 

The  Prayer  Circle 

A  Secret  Prayer  and  Personal  Workers’  Circle 
is  one  of  the  best  evangelistic  assets  that  any 
class  can  have.  This  circle  is  composed  of  an  in¬ 
timate  group  of  workers,  meeting  once  a  month 
under  the  direction  of  the  President  in  prayer  for 
the  unsaved  members  of  the  class.  The  class  as  a 
whole  knows  nothing  of  the  circle.  Sometimes  it 
is  possible  to  have  two  or  more  prayer  circles  at 
one  time,  none  of  which  know  of  the  existence  of 
the  other.  The  meetings  of  the  prayer  circle  need 
not  be  long.  Several  minutes  immediately  follow¬ 
ing  the  Sunday  morning  service  will  usually  suffice. 
Some  circles,  however,  hold  regular  meetings  in 
the  members’  homes.  The  circle  should  pray  in¬ 
dividually  for  individuals.  Evangelistic  effort 
backed  by  the  sincere  prayers  of  the  Christian  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  class  is  bound  to  result  in  an  awakened 
spiritual  consciousness. 

Community  Efforts 

The  men’s  classes  should  cooperate  in  every  way 
with  all  evangelistic  efforts  in  the  community. 


118  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


They  can  be  of  great  assistance  in  the  case  of  re¬ 
vival  meetings.  The  President  should  aim  to  fit 
the  work  of  the  class  into  these  larger  plans.  He 
himself  should  be  a  personal  assistant  to  the  Pastor, 
helping  him  with  the  evangelistic  work  among  men, 
distributing  tracts  to  the  unsaved,  speaking  to 
strangers  who  visit  the  church,  supplying  ushers  for 
regular  church  and  special  evangelistic  services.  In 
the  class  he  should  urge  and  encourage  regular 
church  attendance,  and  regular  attendance  at  prayer 
meeting.  The  thought  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  serv¬ 
ice  we  owe  Him  should  always  be  uppermost  in  the 
mind  of  the  class  President. 

II I  CLASS  DAYS 

Many  classes  have  annual  class  days,  specially 
designated  by  some  as  '‘Men’s  Day,”  “Baraca  Day,” 
“Agoga  Day,”  or  something  similar.  While  the 
general  plans  are  developed  by  the  executive  board, 
they  are  carried  out  under  the  personal  supervision 
of  the  President.  On  this  special  day,  which  is 
often  the  anniversary  of  the  class  organization,  and 
frequently  a  class  rally  day,  extra  effort  is  made  to 
secure  a  large  attendance  of  men. 

One  strong  men’s  class  has  had  class  days  each 
year  since  its  organization  twelve  years  ago.  At 
first  the  special  feature  consisted  only  of  a  sermon 


The  Class’s  Spiritual  Service  119 

by  the  Pastor  to  the  class  at  the  morning  preaching 
hour.  A  typical  day  service  now  includes  not  only 
the  special  sermon  by  the  Pastor  at  the  morning 
service,  but  rally  services  at  the  class  session  often 
with  special  speakers,  and  a  service  Sunday  evening 
conducted  entirely  by  the  class.  Usually  four 
speakers,  all  class  members,  are  on  the  evening  pro¬ 
gram.  Some  topic  is  chosen  as  a  Key  Topic  and 
each  speaker  presents  in  ten  minutes  one  phase  of 
that  topic.  Subjects  selected  are  usually  evangelis¬ 
tic  in  their  trend,  leading  to  a  presentation  of  Jesus 
as  Saviour  at  the  close.  All  prayers,  Scripture 
reading  and  special  music  are  also  taken  care  of  by 
class  members. 

At  both  the  morning  and  evening  services  the 
entire  class  marches  into  the  auditorium  in  a  body 
to  special  seats  reserved  for  them.  Usually  they 
sing  some  stirring  song  as  they  come  in,  adding  to 
the  impressiveness  of  the  occasion. 

A  Typical  Class-Day  Program 

AGOGA  DAY  PROGRAM 
MAPLEWOOD  BAPTIST  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

9:45  a.m.  Sunday  School  Worship  Program — in 

charge  of  class  President. 

Scripture — (Psalm  46) — Class  Mem¬ 
ber. 


120  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


Morning  Thought — “Selah” — Teacher. 
10:00  a.m.  Lesson  of  the  morning. 

11:00  a.m.  Annual  Agoga  Sermon — The  Pastor. 

Subject:  “Restlessness  of  Youth.” 
8:oo  p.m.  Annual  Agoga  Day  Service. 

Organ  Prelude — Prayer  and  Response 

— Rockwell 

Hymn — “I  Love  to  Tell  the  Story.” 
Hymn — “Do  You  Love  Him?”  vs.  I, 

3>  4- 

Invocation — Class  President. 

Scripture — Mark  1:14-20;  Mk.  10:17- 
31 ;  Lk.  9:57-62 — A  Member. 
Prayer — A  Member. 

Anthem — “O,  Holy  Father” — 

Carrie  B.  Adams 

— Choir. 

Offertory — “Traumerei”  —  Schumann 
Announcements. 

Hymn — “Oh,  Worship  the  King.” 
Solo — “He  Knows  the  Way” — 

C.  S.  Briggs 

— A  Class  Member. 

Talks: — Theme:  “Fundamentals  of 
Christian  Living.” 

1.  Church  Membership  —  Class 

President. 

2.  Bible  Study — Class  Member. 


The  Class’s  Spiritual  Service  12  i 

3.  Worship — Class  Member. 

4.  Soul  Winning — Class  Teacher. 
Hymn— “I  Am  Thine,  O  Lord.” 
Benediction — Pastor. 

Postlude — “I  Waited  for  the  Lord,” 
from  “Hymn  of  Praise” — Mendels¬ 
sohn. 

The  following  topics  have  also  been  used  as  the 
basis  of  class  day  services : 

1.  The  Manhood  of  the  Master — Fosdick. 

a.  Jesus  as  a  Young  Man. 

b.  The  Master’s  Endurance  and  Self-Re¬ 

straint. 

c.  The  Master’s  Sincerity  and  Affection. 

d.  The  Master’s  Loyalty  to  the  Cause. 

2.  The  Young  Man  and  the  Church. 

a.  When  Shall  We  Start  to  Serve  the 

Master  ? 

b.  How  the  Church  Aids  the  Young  Man. 

c.  When  Get  Young  Men? 

d.  Our  Reasonable  Service. 

3.  “Not  to  be  Ministered  unto,  but  to  Minister” 

— Service. 

a.  Love. 

b.  Sacrifice. 

c.  Training. 

d.  The  Call  to  Service. 


122  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


Scripture  appropriate  to  the  topic  should  be  se¬ 
lected  for  the  general  reading.  The  individual 
speakers  may  use  portions  of  this  Scripture  selection 
on  which  to  base  their  talks,  or  they  may  select 
other  appropriate  passages.  The  President  will 
usually  be  one  of  the  four  speakers,  but  should  pre¬ 
side  at  the  service  in  any  event. 

Preparation 

The  preparation  for  special  class  services  should 
be  careful  and  thorough.  After  the  assignment  of 
the  parts  to  the  speakers,  several  weeks  should  be 
allowed  for  their  preparation.  The  speakers  should 
then  meet  to  pray  over  and  to  discuss  the  talks  in 
order  to  bring  out  the  strongest  points  and  prevent 
overlapping.  All  the  talks  should  converge  to  the 
final  talk,  which  will  be  in  the  nature  of  an  invita¬ 
tion  to  greater  service  for  Jesus  Christ. 

Influence  of  Class  Day  Services 

Results  from  class  day  services  are  far-reaching. 
They  serve  to  make  the  class  more  widely  known; 
they  stimulate  enthusiasm  and  interest;  they  give 
members  a  new  vision  of  Christian  service  that  often 
ends  in  a  decision  for  the  Christian  Ministry.  Class 
Gospel  Teams  are  often  an  offspring  of  these  serv¬ 
ices;  teams  of  men  that  visit  pastorless  churches 
and  hold  religious  services,  organize  Sunday 


The  Class's  Spiritual  Service  123 

Schools  and  young  people’s  societies;  teams  that 
visit  jails,  hospitals,  poor  houses  and  bring  cheer 
and  hope  to  empty  lives;  and  all  told  render  a 
priceless  service  in  communities  where  souls  hunger 
for  the  Gospel  message. 

Ill :  SOCIAL  AND  COMMUNITY  SERVICE 

The  class  that  fulfills  its  ultimate  mission  is 
reaching  out  daily  into  the  church,  the  community, 
the  world,  in  an  endeavor  to  serve.  These  class 
activities  are  truly  spiritual — their  extent  is  a  gauge 
of  the  effectiveness  of  the  teaching. 

The  President  should  be  familiar  with  conditions 
existing  in  the  community,  the  state  and  the  nation. 
He  should  direct  all  community  service  of  the  class, 
such  as  campaigns  for  better  law  enforcement,  reg¬ 
ulation  of  pool  rooms,  elimination  of  disorderly 
houses,  efforts  to  secure  better  housing,  more  play¬ 
grounds,  better  labor  conditions,  better  treatment 
of  cases  of  juvenile  delinquency,  a  cleaner,  more 
worthwhile  community.  A  survey  of  the  commu¬ 
nity  will  show  a  field  of  endeavor  beyond  concep¬ 
tion.  And  it  is  remarkable  what  a  class  can  ac¬ 
complish  in  the  way  of  molding  public  opinion  and 
securing  remedial  legislation  if  it  wills  to  do  it. 
When  all  the  men’s  classes  of  a  community,  repre¬ 
senting  the  highest  type  of  men,  federate  to  accom- 


124  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


plish  definite  service  there  is  brought  into  being  a 
force  for  righteousness  that  is  simply  irresistible. 
Right  now  one  of  the  biggest  tasks  before  the  Chris¬ 
tian  men  of  this  country  is  securing  enforcement  of 
the  prohibition  laws  upon  our  statute  books — and 
the  men  in  the  nation's  organized  classes  are  strong 
enough  to  do  it.  Still  other  tasks  await  them  when 
this  will  have  been  accomplished. 

Many  classes  in  the  cities  are  cooperating  with  the 
Big  Brother  Organizations — helping  some  boy  fight 
against  obstacles  in  his  struggle  to  live  a  Christian 
life;  guiding  him  through  the  temptations  that  sur¬ 
round  him;  and  leading  him  to  a  manhood  of  use¬ 
fulness.  Some  classes  accept  the  responsibility  of 
conducting  Americanization  classes  for  foreigners. 
Others  assist  in  social  centers  and  mission  schools, 
furnishing  teachers,  speakers,  administrators,  musi¬ 
cians,  and  directors  of  boys’  work  activities.  Very 
often  the  boys’  work  in  the  church  of  which  the 
class  is  a  part,  is  neglected,  and  offers  a  golden 
opportunity  for  service  to  the  men’s  class. 

Classes  in  smaller  towns  have  even  greater  op¬ 
portunities  for  service,  for  the  field  is  usually  in 
greater  need  of  development.  There  is  greater  need 
for  religious  service  in  Sunday  Schools,  for  develop¬ 
ing  trained  leadership,  for  directing  boys’  activities, 
for  community  improvement,  establishing  libraries, 
reading  rooms  and  social  centers,  than  in  the  cities. 


The  Class’s  Spiritual  Service  125 

The  needs  are  there — will  the  organized  men’s 
classes  just  see  the  needs  and  then  begin  work? 

iv :  MISSIONS 

So,  too,  with  missions.  The  President  should 
keep  in  touch  with  the  missionary  activities  of  the 
Church  and  Sunday  School.  It  is  an  excellent  plan 
for  the  class  to  contribute  to  missions,  preferably 
through  the  regular  Church  or  Sunday  School  chan¬ 
nels.  Some  classes  support  missionaries,  native 
workers,  or  even  entire  mission  stations.  The  mis¬ 
sion  boards  have  made  it  possible  for  classes  that 
can  give  only  ten  dollars  a  year  to  have  part  in 
some  specific  enterprise  by  means  of  the  station  plan. 
Shares  in  mission  stations  are  issued  in  any  sum 
from  ten  dollars  upward.  The  shareholding  class 
then  feels  an  individual  interest  in  the  particular 
station  chosen.  Letters  are  received  periodically 
from  the  missionaries  at  the  station,  pictures  of  and 
literature  about  the  station  may  be  obtained.  Such 
definite  missionary  work,  plus  the  regular  mission 
study  courses  will  serve  to  create  and  develop  a 
permanent,  living  interest  in  world-wide  evangeli¬ 
zation. 

Through  class  channels  missionary  and  denom¬ 
inational  literature  may  be  distributed  to  the  class, 
church  and  community.  The  men’s  class  might 


126  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


well  provide  the  church  with  a  literature  rack  and 
see  that  it  is  supplied  with  tracts  which  are  supplied 
by  the  mission  boards.  This  phase  of  work  belongs 
more  specifically  to  the  work  of  the  Librarian  which 
is  to  be  discussed  in  a  later  chapter. 

V  :  EXTENSION  WORK  OF  THE  CLASS 
Correspondence  Study 

Many  men  because  of  their  occupations  can  only 
attend  class  sessions  at  irregular  intervals.  Some, 
like  traveling  salesmen,  may  find  it  difficult  to  at¬ 
tend  any  class  for  perhaps  weeks.  Here  is  a  won¬ 
derful  opportunity  for  the  class  to  conduct  a  corre¬ 
spondence  study  department  for  such  men.  Use 
texts  of  the  Denominational  Publication  Society, 
University  of  Chicago  and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  These 
may  easily  be  carried  by  travelers;  the  assignments 
are  short  and  interesting;  the  material  is  educa¬ 
tional  and  inspirational.  The  President  should  ap¬ 
point  an  assistant  to  look  after  the  details  of  this 
division  of  his  work,  to  secure  reports  of  work  done 
and  offerings. 

Home  Department 

An  assistant  to  the  President  should  work  to  en¬ 
roll  all  the  men  of  the  community,  who  for  any 
reason  cannot  attend  class,  in  the  Home  Department 


The  Class’s  Spiritual  Service  127 

of  the  school.  If  there  is  no  such  department,  there 
is  no  reason  why  a  live  class  should  not  assume  the 
responsibility  for  the  conduct  of  a  Home  Depart¬ 
ment.  The  men’s  class  many  often  cooperate  with 
a  women’s  class  in  such  work  to  good  advantage. 

Teacher  Training 

It  is  natural  that  the  school  should  look  to  the 
men’s  class  for  teachers  and  leaders  of  boys.  A 
leader-training  course  should  be  a  regular  part  of 
the  extension  work  of  the  class.  One  class  held  a 
fifteen-week  course  using  as  texts  Rafifety’s  “Broth- 
ering  the  Boy”  and  See’s  “Teaching  of  Bible 
Classes.”  The  men  who  took  the  work  (which  was 
given  for  forty-five  minutes  before  the  regular  class 
session)  felt  less  reluctant  to  attempt  the  teaching 
of  classes  when  offered  them.  From  such  a  small 
beginning  a  regular  school  teacher  training  class 
might  easily  be  developed. 

VI :  IN  CONCLUSION 

J 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  outline  that 
the  work  of  the  class  President  is  of  such  impor¬ 
tance  that  the  class  must  elect  its  very  best  man  to 
the  office.  He  has  vast  opportunities.  If  he  will 
persevere  and  give  his  best  he  will  set  an  example 
to  the  other  officers  that  will  be  a  stimulus  to  greater 


128  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


effort  on  their  part,  and  that  will  result  in  a  greater 
class  influence  in  the  community  and  among  its 
young  men.  No  one  class  will  be  likely  to  engage 
in  all  the  activities  enumerated  in  this  chapter. 
The  class  under  the  direction  of  its  President  should 
discover  the  problems  that  await  solution,  and  then 
proceed  to  solve  them. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Adult  Class  Activities  (Leaflet — A.  B.  P.  S.). 

Agar,  “Church  Oflicers.,, 

Agar,  “Democracy  and  the  Church.” 
Strickland-McGlothlin,  “Building  the  Bible  Class,” 
First  Division,  Chapter  VIII. 

Burroughs,  “Winning  to  Christ.” 

Strickland,  “The  Class  Officers  and  Their  Work,”  pp. 
7,  20-23  (Leaflet  S.  S.  B.  of  S.  B.  C.). 

“101  Things  101  Bible  Classes  Are  Doing”;  “The  O.  A. 
B.  C.  at  Work”  (Leaflets — International  Sunday  School 
Council). 

“The  Civic  Program”;  “The  Town  Program”;  “Social 
Service  by  Organized  Men”;  “The  Layman  and  the 
Kingdom”  (Leaflets  from  Social  Service  Commission, 
Northern  Baptist  Convention). 

Rust,  “The  Church  as  a  Field  of  Service.” 

Hudson,  “The  ‘How’  Book.” 

Hutchins,  “Graded  Social  Service  in  the  Sunday 
School.” 

Wells,  “The  Ideal  Adult  Class,”  Chapters  XI,  XII, 

XIII,  XIV. 

Barclay,  “The  Adult  Worker  and  His  Work,”  Chapters 

XIV,  XV,  XVI. 


The  Class’s  Spiritual  Service  129 

Blick,  “The  Adult  Department,”  Chapters  XIII,  XIV, 
XV,  XVI. 

Bovard,  “Adults  in  the  Sunday  School,”  Chapters  VIII, 
IX,  X. 

Trumbull,  “Individual  Work  for  Individuals.” 
Moniger,  “How  to  Build  up  an  A.  B.  C.,”  Chapter 
XVIII. 

Shailer  Mathews,  “Individual  and  Social  Gospel.” 
Spurgeon,  “The  Soul  Winner.” 


Chapter  Nine 


BRINGING  IN  THE  MEN 

IN  the  departmental  plan  of  organization,  the 
Vice-President  has  a  very  definite  and  most  im¬ 
portant  task  to  accomplish — building  the  class 
membership.  Too  often  this  office  is  considered  a 
sinecure  and  a  good  man  is  lost  to  service.  The 
Vice-President  should  aim  to  make  the  initials  of 
his  office,  V.P.,  mean  “Valuable  Person/’  and  not 
“'Very  Poor”  as  is  so  often  the  case. 

i:  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  VICE-PRESIDENT 

In  general  the  Vice-President  should  have  the 
same  qualities  of  leadership  as  the  President.  His 
work  should  be  characterized  by  a  spirit  of  strong, 
quiet  perseverance,  backed  by  an  attractive  person¬ 
ality.  He  must  be  convincingly  friendly  and  should 
make  a  spirit  of  genuine  welcome  and  a  feeling  of 
cheer  fill  the  class  room. 

II :  DUTIES  AS  THE  CLASS  RECRUITING  OFFICER 

Sunday  Morning  Welcome 

The  Vice-President  should  be  the  first  person 

present  at  the  Sunday  morning  class  sessions,  so 

VO 


131 


Bringing  in  the  Men 

that  he  may  welcome  strangers  and  also  give  the 
hand  of  fellowship  to  the  regular  members  as  they 
arrive.  If  the  class  is  a  large  one,  he  may  use  sev¬ 
eral  assistants,  stationing  one  or  more  at  each  en¬ 
trance  to  the  school  assembly  room  and  the  class 
room.  The  first  impression  made  upon  a  visitor 
is  often  the  means  of  winning  him  for  a  member. 
If  that  impression  is  unfavorable  the  man  may  be 
lost  not  only  from  the  class,  but  also  from  the  serv¬ 
ice  of  Christ.  This  phase  of  the  work  should  under 
no  condition  suffer  neglect. 

Making  Men  Acquainted  With  Each  Other 

The  Vice-President  should  seek  to  make  every 
man  present  acquainted  with  every  other  man. 
Special  attention  should  be  paid  to  this  at  the  close 
of  the  session.  At  that  time  an  observer  will  see 
something  like  this  happen :  after  the  closing  prayer, 
there  will  be  for  a  moment  an  appearance  of  gen¬ 
eral  commotion — men  moving  around,  moving 
chairs,  etc.  This  apparent  chaos  will  then  gradu¬ 
ally  resolve  itself  into  a  number  of  groups  drawn 
together  by  some  common  interest.  Outside  of 
these  groups  there  will  usually  be  several  individu¬ 
als,  who  either  because  of  timidity  or  because  they 
are  strangers,  will  be  left  by  themselves.  The  Vice- 
President  and  his  assistants  should  be  on  the  look¬ 
out  for  those  men  and  see  that  they  are  directed  to 


132  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


one  of  the  groups  or  are  engaged  in  conversation 
by  assistants  during  the  few  social  moments  that 
remain  before  church  service.  The  final  impres¬ 
sion  must  be  equally  favorable  with  the  first  im¬ 
pression.  To  gain  members  a  class  must  show  itself 
friendly. 

It  is  more  difficult  for  all  members  to  know  each 
other  in  large  classes  than  in  smaller  ones.  One 
class  solved  this  problem  by  furnishing  each  mem¬ 
ber  with  a  large  celluloid  button  upon  which  he 
wrote  his  name.  Between  sessions  the  buttons  are 
filed  on  boards — easily  accessible  to  the  men  as  they 
arrive  at  the  class  room.  At  the  sessions,  men  can 
then  call  the  other  members  by  name — quite  a  step 
in  itself  toward  more  informal  fellowship. 

“ F ollow-up”  of  Visitors 

Every  visitor  who  attends  the  class  should  be 
“followed”  with  a  view  of  making  a  regular  at¬ 
tendant  of  him.  It  is  the  duty  of  one  of  the  Vice- 
President’s  assistants  to  secure  the  name,  address, 
business,  etc.,  of  every  visitor  who  attends.  If  a 
visitor  is  permanently  located  in  the  community, 
every  effort  should  be  made  to  make  a  regular  mem¬ 
ber  out  of  him.  During  the  week  following  his  first 
visit  to  the  class,  a  card  or  letter  should  be  sent  to 
him  stating  that  the  class  was  glad  that  he  met  with 
them  on  the  preceding  Sunday  and  expressing  the 


133 


Bringing  in  the  Men 

hope  that  he  liked  the  class  well  enough  to  return 
the  following  Sunday.  The  letters  should  be  fol¬ 
lowed  by  phone  calls  and  personal  calls  until  the 
prospect  either  joins  the  class  or  some  other  class 
or  moves  out  of  town.  If  the  visitor  is  a  transient, 
the  card  or  letter  should  be  sent  him  anyway.  Some 
classes  mail  all  visitors  a  copy  of  the  class  bulletin 
for  the  two  weeks  following  their  visit  to  the  class. 
Such  visitors  usually  carry  the  story  of  the  class 
and  its  methods  back  to  their  homes  and  their  home 
classes. 


Ill :  RECRUITING  METHODS 

While  cards,  letters,  phone  calls,  circulars,  posters 
and  paid  advertisements  should  be  used  in  recruit¬ 
ing,  the  surest  method  of  building  class  membership 
is  through  the  personal  touch.  It  is  impossible  for 
any  Vice-President  to  make  all  the  calls  that  will  be 
required,  personally.  He  must  have  a  large  corps 
of  assistants  to  help  in  the  work  and  the  complete 
cooperation  of  the  entire  class  membership. 

The  “One-at-a-Time”  Plan 

The  best  method  of  building  up  class  attendance 
known  to  the  writer  is  the  “one-at-a-time”  plan, 
first  described  by  Marshall  Hudson.1  Wishing  that 


1  Hudson— “The  ‘How’  Book” 


134  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


the  class  had  a  large  membership,  does  not  bring  in 
new  members;  neither  does  complaining  that  the 
men  do  not  come  out.  There  is  just  one  way  to  get 
men  into  the  class — Go  and  get  them.  By  the 
“one-at-a-time”  plan,  it  is  possible  to  build  up  the 
class  membership  more  quickly  than  by  any  other 
method  and  yet  without  overworking  any  member. 
By  this  plan,  attendance  is  more  easily  maintained 
— the  men  who  are  brought  in,  come  to  stay  and  to 
work. 

When  using  the  “one-at-a-time”  method,  the 
Vice-President  is  what  an  officer  should  be — the 
director.  At  least  two-thirds  of  the  class  members 
should  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  Vice-President  for 
recruiting.  These  members  are  divided  into  teams 
of  seven  men  each.  The  other  third  of  the  class 
is  divided  in  the  same  way,  but  is  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  the  Visitor  in  his  work  of  maintaining  the 
attendance.  These  two  officers  work  together,  al¬ 
ternating  groups,  so  that  all  members  will  work 
on  prospects  for  part  of  the  time. 

To  each  team  is  assigned  each  week  the  name  of 
one  man  whom  it  is  desired  to  bring  into  the  class. 
Each  member  of  the  team  is  assigned  one  day  on 
which  he  is  to  visit  his  group’s  prospect.  One  man 
will  call  on  the  prospect  Monday,  another  on  Tues¬ 
day,  another  on  Wednesday,  and  so  on  through  the 
entire  week. 


Bringing  in  the  Men  135 

Note  now  the  probable  psychologic  effect  upon 
the  prospect.  On  Monday  a  class  representative 
calls  on  him  at  his  home  or  at  his  place  of  business 
and  merely  introduces  himself  and  extends  the  in¬ 
vitation  to  visit  the  class.  On  Tuesday  another 
member  will  call  and  extend  his  invitation.  On 
Wednesday  the  prospect  will  probably  tell  the  third 
man  that  two  others  have  already  been  to  see  him. 
Let  that  pass;  don’t  say  “Yes,  I  know  it,  and  there 
will  be  three  more  here  during  the  week.”  By 
Thursday  the  unusually  hard  prospect  will  be  vis¬ 
ibly  impressed  and  may  even  remark  that  the  class 
must  be  pretty  much  alive;  then  again  the  prospect 
may  become  irritated.  Don’t  show  that  it  has  been 
noticed;  and  don’t  argue;  just  leave  the  invitation. 
By  Saturday  the  prospect  may  have  been  impressed 
sufficiently  to  say,  “I  will  come  out  tomorrow  if  I 
get  up  in  time.”  Don’t  be  elated;  this  may  be  said 
merely  to  get  rid  of  the  visitor.  The  final  clincher 
is  the  Sunday  man.  On  Sunday  morning  about 
an  hour  before  time  for  the  class  to  meet,  the  sev¬ 
enth  man  goes  to  the  prospect’s  home  and  will  most 
likely  find  him  asleep.  When  awakened  he  will 
probably  say  that  he  would  come  if  he  were  dressed. 
Then  just  tell  him  that  he  has  a  whole  hour  and 
that  you  are  there  to  bring  him  to  class  and  will 
wait  for  him.  Nine  times  out  of  ten  you  will  ap¬ 
pear  at  class  with  your  man. 


136  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

If  with  all  the  efforts  of  the  group  you  fail  to 
get  the  man,  what  then?  Give  him  up?  Not 
much!  The  next  week  a  second  team  goes  after 
him,  and  another  the  following  week  if  necessary. 
Marshall  Hudson,  in  “The  ‘How’  Book”  tells  of  a 
man  who  was  visited  fifty-six  times  with  no  appar¬ 
ent  results ,  and  then  came  out  after  the  fifty-seventh 
call. 

If  the  class  is  small  that  need  not  deter  the  Vice- 
President  from  using  the  plan.  If  only  seven  men 
are  available  change  the  order  of  going  if  necessary 
to  send  the  group  after  a  man  the  second  week. 
Let  the  Monday  man  go  on  Wednesday,  and  so  on. 
In  most  cases  you  will  have  gotten  the  prospect  by 
the  end  of  the  second  week  or  he  will  have  moved 
out  of  town.  The  great  beauty  of  this  plan  is  that 
it  requires  no  more  than  fifteen  minutes  of  a  busy 
man's  time,  one  day  a  week,  as  the  visits  are  not 
necessarily  lengthy  social  calls. 

Having  secured  your  man,  assign  him  at  once  to 
a  group  and  let  him  go  after  some  other  man — he 
will  enjoy  giving  some  one  else  the  same  medicine 
which  he  received.  Gradually  as  the  membership 
increases  more  groups  will  be  at  work  and  the  class 
will  grow  correspondingly. 

Assuming  that  each  group  at  work  secures  only 
one  new  member  a  month,  out  of  the  possible  four, 
a  conservative  estimate  indeed,  that  means  an  in- 


Bringing  in  the  Men  137 

crease  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  per  cent  in 
the  membership  of  the  class  in  one  year.  What 
class  is  increasing  at  that  rate  under  the  haphazard, 
artificial  methods  of  stimulation  so  frequently  used? 
To  the  leaders  who  work  in  spurts  this  plan  may 
seem  very  slow  in  its  results.  To  such  we  say, 
“Just  give  it  a  trial  for  three  months  and  then  judge 
its  value.  This  plan  has  been  successful  wherever 
worked 

Campaigns 

Special  campaigns  for  members  do  create  tem¬ 
porary  enthusiasm  and  have  their  place  in  the 
scheme  of  class  activities.  Such  flash  campaigns 
should  never  be  allowed  to  take  the  place  of  steady, 
determined  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Vice-President 
and  his  assistants. 

One  men’s  class  with  a  membership  of  twenty- 
five  holds  an  annual  reception  for  all  the  men  of 
the  community — a  splendid  means  of  making  them 
acquainted  with  each  other  and  with  the  class.  A 
live  speaker,  some  good  entertainment  and  refresh¬ 
ments  are  provided;  the  class  officers  make  talks 
telling  what  the  work  of  the  class  means  to  them; 
the  Vice-President  and  his  assistants  are  on  hand 
full  force  and  extend  personal  invitations  to  join 
the  class.  Such  a  reception  usually  puts  the  class 
in  touch  with  a  number  of  new  prospects. 


138  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


An  annual  student’s  reception  is  held  each 
autumn  by  another  class,  and  serves  to  line  up  those 
students  from  out  of  town  who  are  attending  school 
and  college  in  the  city  where  the  class  is  located. 
This  reception  not  only  brings  a  large  number  of 
students  into  the  class,  but  performs  a  real  service 
in  making  strangers  feel  less  strange  during  the 
first  few  weeks  away  from  home. 

Rally  Day  is  a  logical  time  for  a  membership  cam¬ 
paign.  Effort  should  be  made  to  secure  the  attend¬ 
ance  of  every  member  past  and  present,  as  well  as 
prospects.  It  is  better  to  permit  the  regular  Teacher 
to  have  the  Rally  Day  lesson  hour  rather  than  an 
outside  speaker.  He  needs  the  inspiration  of  large 
numbers  after  weeks  of  service  with  a  smaller  class. 

Anniversaries  of  the  Class  Organization  offer 
opportunity  for  special  effort  to  secure  the  attend¬ 
ance  of  all  former  members  of  the  class.  A  class 
reunion  of  this  nature  may  be  genuinely  inspira¬ 
tional.  Usually  classes  hold  anniversary  celebra¬ 
tions  at  intervals  of  five  or  ten  years. 

Easter,  Mothers’  Day,  Thanksgiving  and  Christ¬ 
mas  also  lend  themselves  very  well  to  special  attend¬ 
ance  effort. 

Contests 

Frequently  the  membership  campaign  takes  the 
form  of  a  contest  in  which  points  are  allotted  on 


Bringing  in  the  Men  139 

a  basis  of  new  members,  visitors,  and  punctuality. 
As  a  climax  the  side  receiving  the  most  points  in 
an  allotted  time  is  usually  treated  to  a  supper  by 
the  losers.  Such  a  contest  will  bring  in  large 
numbers  during  the  period  of  the  contest ,  but  when 
the  artificial  stimulation  of  the  contest  ceases 
to  exist — most  of  the  new  members  (?)  begin  to 
drop  away.  Oh,  yes,  such  members  can  be  held  by 
a  continuous  plan,  such  as  the  “one-at-a-time” 
method — but  why  not  use  this  method  at  the  begin¬ 
ning?  The  same  amount  of  effort  properly  applied 
will  secure  more  permanent  results  than  an  “Attend¬ 
ance  Contest/’  which  results  in  a  cessation  of  ac¬ 
tivity  when  it  is  over. 

The  chief  weakness  of  most  contests  is  that 
they  are  conducted  largely  for  the  sake  of  the  con¬ 
test.  A  certain  member  of  a  young  men’s  class 
thought  that  a  new  contest  should  be  started  just 
as  soon  as  one  had  ended.  When  it  came  to  real 
effort  to  save  souls  or  work  for  the  betterment  of 
the  organization,  this  young  man  was  always  some¬ 
where  else. 

A  spirited  contest  between  a  successful  young 
men’s  class  and  the  young  ladies’  class  of  corre¬ 
sponding  ages,  illustrates  the  usual  end  of  this  form 
of  endeavor.  Both  classes  had  an  attendance  of 
about  twenty  a  Sunday  at  the  beginning  of  the  con¬ 
test.  On  the  fifth  Sunday  when  the  contest  ended 


140  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


the  ladies  had  ninety-five  and  the  men  seventy-four. 

Certain  visitors  were  brought  by  both  classes  just 
to  count  the  three  points  for  each.  Some  hard  feel¬ 
ing  was  created  in  the  allotment  of  points.  The 
losing  class  gave  the  winners  a  banquet,  the  largest 
to  that  time  held  in  that  particular  church,  after 
which  attendance  in  both  classes  reverted  to  its 
former  average. 

There  is  now  offered  by  the  International  Sunday 
School  Council,  the  thoroughly  sound  Four-Square 
contest  based  on  a  real  service  program.  It  is  ar¬ 
ranged  for  inter-class,  inter-city  or  inter-county 
competition.  Wherever  properly  conducted,  per¬ 
manent  good  has  resulted.  A  leaflet  of  information 
can  be  secured  from  the  Council  or  the  State  Asso¬ 
ciation  offices. 

The  few  permanent  workers  gained  could  have 
been  gotten  more  easily  if  a  business-like  system 
had  been  used. 

Sources  of  Prospects 

Visitors  to  the  class  and  church  services  are  al¬ 
ways  possible  prospects.  The  Vice-President  should 
have  assistants  at  both  the  morning  and  evening 
preaching  services  to  meet  strangers  who  may  be 
present.  The  class  may  conduct  a  religious  census 
or  cooperate  with  the  community  churches  in  con¬ 
ducting  one.  This  will  be  a  source  of  many  live 


Bringing  in  the  Men  141 

prospects.  The  Church  Clerk  should  be  consulted, 
and  his  roll  examined — many  prospects  will  be 
revealed  in  this  way.  The  community  might  well 
be  divided  into  districts  with  an  assistant  to  the 
Vice-President  in  charge  of  each  one,  he  to  watch 
for  new  families  that  move  into  the  neighborhood. 
If  the  men  who  have  just  moved  into  the  com¬ 
munity  are  seen  as  soon  as  they  move  in,  the  pos¬ 
sibilities  of  securing  active  workers  is  greatly 
enhanced. 


IV :  USING  THE  NEW  MEMBERS 

Recognition  of  New  Members 

Many  classes  have  a  monthly  recognition  service 
for  the  new  members — not  a  “horse  play”  initiation, 
but  a  dignified  service  of  just  a  few  minutes  duration 
at  one  Sunday  service.  Such  service  need  include 
only  a  few  words  of  welcome  from  the  President 
or  Vice-President  in  order  to  make  the  new  men  feel 
at  home  and  to  make  them  acquainted  with  the  other 
members  of  the  class,  and  a  brief  outline  of  the  pur¬ 
pose  and  aims  of  the  class.  At  this  time  the  class 
button  and  other  class  literature  should  be  given  to 
the  new  men. 

Importance  of  Putting  New  Members  to  Work 
Work  is  necessary  to  create  and  keep  up  the  in- 


142  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


terest  in  the  class.  The  new  man  should  be  made 
to  feel  that  the  class  can  do  him  good  and  that  he 
in  turn  can  be  of  service  to  the  class  and  to  the 
Kingdom.  New  men  should  be  assigned  to  definite 
work  on  recruiting  teams  and  as  assistants  to  class 
officers,  placing  them  in  positions  that  will  be  con¬ 
genial.  Many  a  man  has  been  lost  to  the  Kingdom 
just  because  he  has  been  brought  into  the  class  and 
allowed  to  wither.  Any  recruiting  plan  that  does 
not  utilize  its  new  members  will  certainly  fail. 

Importance  of  Wearing  the  Button 

This  should  be  stressed  regularly.  The  denomi¬ 
national  class  button,  or  the  International  Organized 
Adult  Class  Emblem  establishes  a  bond  of  fellow¬ 
ship  between  Christian  men  who  meet  as  they  travel 
about  the  city  and  as  they  visit  in  other  communi¬ 
ties.  Wearing  the  button  helps  to  advertise  the 
class  as  well  as  the  Organized  Class  Movement. 
There  is  the  feeling  of  reality  and  importance  which 
comes  from  wearing  the  button. 

v:  THE  VICE-PRESIDENT  AS  ACTING  PRESIDENT 

The  Vice-President  should  be  as  familiar  with 
the  work  of  the  class  as  the  President  himself.  He 
should  have  a  brief  conference  with  the  President 
at  least  once  a  week  in  order  to  keep  in  close  touch 


Bringing  in  the  Men  143 

with  all  of  the  President’s  plans.  It  is  of  course 
the  duty  of  the  Vice-President  to  preside  over  the 
class  sessions  whenever  the  President  is  absent.  It 
is  therefore  doubly  important  that  the  Vice-Presi¬ 
dent  be  a  regular  attendant.  Sometimes  the  Presi¬ 
dent  may  be  called  away  without  having  time  to 

f  —  x 

YOU  ARE  INVITED  TO  ATTEND 

ulljp  (Elfararlpr  UmlDprB 
Uiblp  (Haas 

FOR  MEN 

SERVICES  ON  SUNDAY  MORNINGS  AT  9.30 

iEahtHmt  Ijirights  §>nttfcag-§>cluml 

CORNER  CLAYBROOK  AND  MONROE 

J.R.  Hyde 

TAKE  MADISON  AVENUE  _ J  —  ...  ■  ■  ...  .  - - 

CARS  TO  CLAYBROOK  INVITED  BY 

V _ _ _ J 

FIGURE  I — CLASS  INVITATION 

notify  the  Vice-President — the  latter  must  be  able 
to  step  into  the  breach.  In  ordinary  cases  the  Vice- 
President  should  always  be  given  notice  that  he  will 
be  expected  to  act.  In  the  event  of  a  prolonged 
absence  of  the  President,  due  to  sickness,  the  Vice- 
President  should  preside  and  relieve  the  President 
of  routine  duties  without  special  notice.  The  im¬ 
portance  of  regular  conferences  with  the  President 
can  thus  easily  be  seen.  With  a  live  Vice-President 


144  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


there  is  no  need  for  the  class  work  to  stop  in  the 
case  of  absence  of  the  President,  nor  for  the  burden 
to  be  thrown  upon  the  Teacher. 

In  business  meetings  the  Vice-President  may 
often  be  called  upon  to  preside  when  the  President 
wishes  to  speak  on  a  motion.  It  is  not  good  par- 


MAPLEWOOD  AGOGA  BIBLE  CLASS 


V-P  Prospedt  Card 


Name  of  Prospe.dt 
Address 
Presented  by 
Remarks 


Follow-Up  Assistant 
Calls:- 

Visited  Qa»»> 

“Get  Another  Man’ 


Message* 

Joined  Class:- 

T urn  Proiped  m  to  the  Viee-Pretideou 


FIGURE  2 — VICE-PRESIDENT  S  PROSPECT  CARD 


liamentary  practice  for  the  chairman  to  speak  for 
or  against  a  motion  from  the  chair. 


vi :  RECORDS 

The  Vice-President  will  find  carefully  kept  rec¬ 
ords  of  valuable  assistance.  He  should  record  the 
names  and  addresses  of  all  visitors  and  other  pros¬ 
pects;  dates  of  cards,  letters,  phone  and  personal 


Bringing  in  the  Men  145 

calls;  records  of  the  results  secured  by  the  several 
teams;  and  records  of  all  prospects  who  join  the 
class.  Such  records  will  enable  him  to  follow  up 
his  prospects  effectively  and  to  make  comprehensive 
reports  of  the  work  done  by  his  department.  If 
such  records  are  available  a  new  Vice-President  will 
find  his  path  much  smoother.  The  forms  herewith 
(Figures  I  and  2)  are  some  that  have  been  used  by 
class  Vice-Presidents  to  good  advantage. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Strickland  &  McGlothlin,  “Building  the  Bible 
Class,”  pp.  60-61. 

Hudson,  “The  ‘How’  Book,”  pp.  33-50. 

Moninger,  “How  to  Build  up  an  A.  B.  C.,”  Chapters 
IV,  VIII. 

Barclay,  “The  Adult  Worker  and  His  Work,”  Chapter 
XVIII. 

Wells,  “The  Ideal  Adult  Class  in  the  Sunday  School,” 
Chapter  VII. 

“The  Four-Square  Adult  Bible  Class  Campaign”  (Free 
leaflet — International  S.  S.  Council). 


Chapter  Ten 


HOLDING  THEM 

i:  THE  MAN  IN  CHARGE  OF  THE  WORK 

THE  men’s  class  must  not  only  work  to  in¬ 
crease  its  attendance — it  must  maintain  the 
attendance  of  those  already  on  the  membership 
rolls.  This  is  usually  a  harder  task  than  bringing 
in  new  members.  In  its  complete  sense  the  purpose 
of  the  class  must  be  “to  have ,  and  to  hold”  For 
this  important  work  the  Visitor  is  responsible. 

The  Visitor  must  have  the  same  qualifications  as 
the  Vice-President,  but  to  an  even  greater  degree. 
He  must  be  blessed  with  the  gentle  persistence  of 
an  insurance  salesman  and  a  tenacity  of  purpose 
that  is  not  thwarted  by  superficial  excuses.  He 
must  possess  the  tact  of  a  diplomat — the  Bible  class 
is  the  place  where  “feelings”  are  tenderest — where 
hurts  and  insults  are  inflicted  with  greatest  ease  and 
wounds  healed  with  greatest  difficulty.  The  class 
will  of  course  select  for  Visitor  a  man  of  magnetic 
personality — one  who  can  mix  with  men,  and  one 
who  will  take  some  time  from  mere  worldly  pleas¬ 
ures  to  actually  go  out  and  mix  with  them.  Jok¬ 
ingly  speaking,  the  Visitor  is  the  class  truant 

146 


Holding  T hem  147 

officer,  but  he  performs  his  functions,  not  with  the 
aid  of  police  authority  but  by  creating  a  new  and 
deeper  love  for  the  class. 


II :  MAINTAINING  A  HIGH  AVERAGE 

Follow  of  Absentees 

A  regular  follow  of  all  absentees  is  absolutely 
necessary  if  the  class  attendance  is  to  be  maintained 
at  a  proper  level.  An  absence  should  never  go  un¬ 
noticed.  The  Visitor  will  use  various  methods  of 
making  his  follow,  using  his  best  judgment  as  to 
what  method  to  use  on  the  different  individuals. 
At  least  a  post-card  (personally  written,  not  a 
printed  form)  should  be  sent  to  the  absentee  during 
the  week  following  his  first  absence.  This  should 
carry  a  greeting  from  the  class,  regrets  at  the 
absence  and  the  hope  that  nothing  serious  is  wrong, 
and  that  he  will  be  out  the  following  Sunday.  If 
the  absence  continues,  a  personal  letter  should  be 
sent  the  second  week.  No  absence  should  continue 
for  more  than  three  weeks  without  a  personal  call 
from  the  Visitor  or  one  of  his  assistants.  Such  a 
call  is  much  to  be  preferred  following  the  second 
absence.  The  telephone  will  be  frequently  used,  as 
occasion  warrants. 

Unless  it  is  known  that  a  man  can  be  present  only 
every  other  Sunday  or  the  like,  it  should  be  assumed 


148  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


that  absence  is  due  to  illness  or  other  serious  reason, 
and  a  strenuous  effort  should  be  made  to  determine 
what  that  reason  is.  In  case  of  serious  illness  many 
classes  send  flowers,  this  being  left  to  the  discre¬ 
tion  of  the  Visitor  himself.  The  class  must  show 
some  concern  about  the  absent  member  each  week 
that  he  is  absent  or  very  soon  that  member  will 
show  but  little  concern  about  the  class. 

Absentees  should  be  kept  informed  regarding  the 
class  work  at  all  times.  If  the  class  issues  a  bul¬ 
letin,  a  copy  should  be  mailed  to  every  absent 
member.  This  may  be  done  under  the  Visitor’s 
own  direction  or  as  is  suggested  in  a  later  chapter, 
by  the  Librarian.  One  Visitor  during  mission  study 
courses,  tied  up  his  work  to  the  teaching,  by  using 
post-cards  showing  views  of  the  mission  field  being 
studied.  Such  cards  are  supplied  by  the  mission 
boards  at  very  reasonable  prices,  and  offer  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  a  desirable  variation  from  regular  cards. 

The  Visitor’s  wits  will  be  greatly  taxed  in  the 
case  of  members  who  have  supposed  reasons  for 
non-attendance — all  delinquents  should  be  urged  to 
state  frankly  why  they  do  not  attend.  The  Visitor 
should  impress  on  them  the  importance,  both  to 
themselves  and  to  the  class,  of  a  closer  affiliation. 
He  should  invite  criticism  and  also  suggestions 
showing  that  only  in  this  way  can  the  class  hope  to 


Holding  Them  149 

improve.  In  many  cases  the  only  excuse  for  non- 
attendance  that  a  member  can  give  is  that  he  sleeps 
late  Sunday  mornings.  An  early  rising  visiting  staff 
can  easily  remove  this  cause  of  absenteeism. 

To  carry  on  his  work  with  promptness  and 
thoroughness,  the  Visitor  needs  a  large  corps  of 
assistants  working  under  his  direction.  He  will 
advise  the  entire  class  of  his  plans,  using  at  least 
one-third  in  definite  visiting  service  according  to  the 
“one-at-a-time”  plan  outlined  in  Chapter  IX — a 
plan  that  works  equally  well  with  old  members  and 
with  prospects. 

Rally  Days 

Rally  and  other  special  days  are  harvest  time  for 
the  class  Visitor.  For  such  occasions  he  should 
enlist  the  entire  class  membership  to  secure  a  banner 
attendance.  No  rally  day  efforts  will  however  be 
worth  anything  if  efforts  are  not  continued  after 
the  actual  rally  day  has  passed.  A  special  drive 
will  bring  out  many  irregular  attendants,  but  con¬ 
sistent  and  persistent  effort  is  needed  to  perma¬ 
nently  maintain  a  healthy  attendance. 

Stunts 

One  class  organized  what  was  known  as  “The 
Old  Guard,”  a  group  of  members  who  pledged  the 


150  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


Guard  leader,  “The  Old  Scout,”  to  be  present  every 
Sunday  unless  sick  or  absent  from  the  city.  In  this 
way  a  working  nucleus  was  formed  that  could  be 
depended  upon  to  be  present  every  Sunday.  No  one 
was  urged  to  join  The  Old  Guard  unless  he  was  will¬ 
ing  to  make  the  pledge  and  to  keep  it.  This  plan 
stimulated  attendance  for  quite  a  period.  All 
novelty  plans  lose  their  power  after  being  used  for 
some  time.  When  that  happens  it  is  better  to  adopt 
something  new  rather  than  try  to  revive  a  dying 
stunt. 


Ill :  STIMULATING  PUNCTUALITY 

Nothing  disturbs  a  class  session  more  than  the 
entrance  of  tardy  members.  The  Visitor  in  coopera¬ 
tion  with  the  President  and  Secretary  should  strive 
for  one  hundred  per  cent  punctuality.  This  is  de¬ 
manded  in  business — it  can  be  secured  in  Sunday 
School  classes. 

From  time  to  time  the  Visitor  will  use  various 
“Stunts”  to  call  particular  attention  to  those  who 
are  on  time.  One  such  officer  drew  a  large  clock 
upon  the  blackboard,  with  the  opening  time  in  red 
chalk.  An  assistant  stood  at  the  door  and  called 
out  the  names  of  the  first  twenty  men  who  arrived 
on  time,  while  the  man  at  the  board  wrote  down  the 
names.  This  was  a  very  effective  way  of  calling 


Holding  T hem  151 

attention  to  the  punctual  men.  In  the  small  class 
it  may  be  desirable  to  omit  the  calling  of  the 
names.  Another  plan,  suitable  for  either  large  or 
small  class,  is  the  Flag  Stunt.  Each  man  present 
on  time  is  given  a  small  flag  as  he  enters  the  class 
room.  Sometime  during  the  morning  the  Visitor 
calls  for  a  waving  of  the  flags,  and  emphasizes  the 
fact  that  these  men  with  flags  were  on  time.  Psy¬ 
chologically  such  plans  are  of  considerable  value  in 
stimulating  punctuality. 


IV  :  MEMBERS  WHO  MOVE  AWAY 

The  class  should  not  lose  interest  in  its  members 
when  they  move  from  the  community.  The  Visitor 
should  find  out,  if  possible,  the  destination  of  the 
member  and  should  give  him  a  letter  of  introduc¬ 
tion  to  the  corresponding  class  or  to  the  Pastor  of 
the  church  of  the  same  denomination  in  his  new 
home  community.  It  is  desirable  that  he  write  to 
the  Pastor  himself,  if  known,  so  that  the  member 
may  quickly  take  his  place  in  religious  work.  It 
is  very  easy  for  one  to  get  out  of  the  habit  of  Sun¬ 
day  School  work  when  moving  to  a  new  com¬ 
munity.  The  class’s  responsibility  in  seeing  that  its 
members  are  in  active  service  does  not  cease  until 
the  new  organization  is  notified  that  a  new  worker 
has  moved  into  their  neighborhood. 


152  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


V:  EMPLOYMENT  BUREAU 

Many  men’s  classes  operate  an  employment 
bureau  for  the  benefit  of  the  class  members.  Such 
activities  are  usually  placed  under  the  direction  of 
the  Visitor,  to  be  handled  by  one  of  his  assistants. 
In  large  classes  and  classes  connected  with  large 
churches,  a  bureau  can  give  excellent  results  within 
its  church  organization.  Small  classes  will  usually 
find  it  desirable  to  codperate  with  other  classes  and 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  organizations  to  make  it  a  worthwhile 
proposition.  An  employment  bureau  should  be  in 
charge  of  a  live  man,  who  will  see  that  its  aims  and 
purposes  are  kept  before  all  church  members,  espe¬ 
cially  those  who  are  employers,  and  before  the  busi¬ 
ness  men  of  the  community  at  large.  Properly 
handled  the  employment  bureau  may  be  a  very 
valuable  asset  to  the  class  in  its  work  of  getting 
new  members  and  holding  old  ones.  Here  is  one 
way  in  which  the  class  may  show  that  it  believes 
in  the  helpfulness  and  Christian  brotherhood  of 
which  it  teaches. 

vi :  the  visitor’s  records 

Like  the  other  officers  of  the  organized  class,  the 
Visitor  will  keep  records  so  that  he  and  the  class 
may  be  informed  regarding  the  work  of  his  de- 


Holding  Them 


153 


CALL  REPORT 

Agoga  HibU  (Elaas 

TH  I  RD  BAPTIST  CHURCH 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO., . - . 


. 191... 


IM >1  I  *•% 


Name  _ 

Address 
New  Address  — . 
Phone No 
Object  of  Call — 
Last  in  Class  — - 
Captain  ■♦mtieMwow 


Date  of  Call,  — — — — - 191. 


Report. 


. . .  •••••«»»*, 


Signed 


FIGURE  3 — CALL  REPORT  FOR  VISITOR 


i 


154  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


partment.  He  will  want  a  card  record  of  the  names 
and  addresses  of  all  members.  On  this  card  should 
be  provided  spaces  for  recording  the  absence  of  a 
member  on  any  date,  and  for  noting  the  methods 
used  to  follow  him.  Such  a  record  may  be  as  sim¬ 
ple  or  as  complicated  as  the  Visitor  desires.  A 
standard  3"  x  5"  ruled  card  is  all  that  is  needed. 
Write  the  member’s  name,  home  and  business  ad¬ 
dress,  and  home  and  business  phone  at  the  top. 
When  the  member  is  absent,  note  that  fact  with  the 
date,  then  follow  with  entries  showing  the  date  on 
which  cards  were  sent,  letters  mailed,  phone  calls, 
personal  calls  by  self  or  assistant  and  assistant’s 
name. 

Excuses  given  by  the  absentee  should  by  all 
means  be  noted.  A  salesman  listed  on  cards  all  the 
possible  excuses  a  prospect  could  give  for  not  buy¬ 
ing,  with  the  answers  to  them.  When  the  excuse 
was  given  he  merely  pulled  out  his  card  and  pre¬ 
sented  the  refutation.  The  Visitor  will  find  this 
plan  novel  and  result  getting. 

The  Visitor  should  also  keep  individual  card 
records  of  the  work  done  by  his  various  assistants, 
so  that  he  can  give  encouragement  as  may  be 
needed.  Plain  cards  may  also  be  used  for  this  pur¬ 
pose — the  assistant’s  name  at  the  top,  with  his  as¬ 
signments  and  the  result  of  his  effort  noted  below. 
The  Visitor  must  demand  definite  written  reports 


Holding  Them  155 

from  each  assistant  regarding  the  definite  assign¬ 
ments  that  have  been  given  him.  Figure  3  illustrates 
an  assignment  and  report  blank  that  has  been  used 
successfully. 

It  requires  but  little  imagination  to  see  the  value 
of  such  records  to  the  Visitor.  The  value  to  a  new 
Visitor  just  taking  up  the  duties  is  even  greater,  for 
he  will  have  noted  for  his  use,  the  accumulated  ex¬ 
perience  of  the  previous  men  in  the  same  office. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Strickland  and  McGlothlin,  “Building  the  Bible 
Class,”  pp.  61-62. 

Barclay,  “The  Adult  Worker  and  His  Work,”  Chap¬ 
ter  XVIII. 

Bovard,  “Adults  in  the  Sunday  School,”  Chapter  V. 


Chapter  Eleven 


CLASS  RECORDS 

i:  THE  CLASS  SECRETARY 

RECORDS  bear  the  same  relation  to  the  Bible 
Class,  as  the  gauge  does  to  the  boiler  or  the 
accounting  system  does  to  modern  business.  The 
class  that  does  not  keep  accurate  records  is  like 
a  ship  without  its  compass — it  goes,  but  no  one 
knows  in  what  direction,  nor  at  what  moment  it 
may  hit  rock  and  meet  destruction.  The  class  Sec¬ 
retary  is  a  torch-bearer  occupying  an  enviable  posi¬ 
tion  from  which  he  may  survey  the  work  of  the 
class,  observe  its  trend  and  point  out  by  definite 
facts,  before  the  danger  point  is  reached,  where  im¬ 
provement  may  be  made.  By  the  light  of  his  sta¬ 
tistics  he  leads  the  class  onward  and  upward  to 
greater  success. 

The  man  selected  for  the  office  of  Secretary 
should  be  one  who  has  more  or  less  liking  for  sec¬ 
retarial  work — not  necessarily  a  bookkeeper,  but 
one  who  has  a  love  for  statistics.  The  Secretary 
should  see  the  value  of  comparative  statistics — he 
should  have  an  analytical  mind  to  see  quickly 
how  facts  can  be  used  for  the  best  interest  of  the 

class.  He  should  be  able  to  compile  comprehensive 

156 


Class  Records 


157 


reports  showing  class  growth.  These  reports  to  be 
of  value  must  be  accurate — no  omissions  due  to 
absence.  The  Secretary  should  have  a  reputation 
for  neatness;  the  class  ought  not  be  ashamed  to 
show  its  reports  to  any  one  at  any  time. 


II :  RECORDS  STATISTICAL 

The  attendance  record  is  the  barometer  of  class 
progress.  The  Secretary  should  let  nothing  inter¬ 
fere  with  the  keeping  of  accurate  records  of  attend¬ 
ance,  at  the  Sunday  sessions,  at  business  meetings 
and  at  meetings  of  the  class  officers.  If  he  is  unable 
to  be  present  at  any  class  meeting  he  should  satisfy 
himself  that  one  of  his  assistants  will  be  there  to 
take  care  of  his  work  for  him.  Records  are  value¬ 
less  if  incomplete. 

No  records  should  be  kept  merely  for  record’s 
sake — record  only  the  information  that  can  be  used. 
The  minimum  requirements  should  include  number 
present,  the  names  of  those  present,  number  and 
names  of  visitors,  a  record  of  those  present  on  time. 
Other  information  will  be  secured  as  the  class  finds 
use  for  it. 

Securing  Attendance 

Methods  of  securing  the  attendance  information 
vary  in  different  classes.  In  no  case  should  valuable 


158  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


time  of  the  session  be  taken  to  conduct  roll  call. 
In  small  classes  the  Secretary  will  probably  know 
all  the  members  and  can  check  off  his  attendance 
without  bothering  any  one,  names  of  visitors  being 
secured  from  the  Vice-President  after  class  session. 
In  one  small  class  of  about  forty  members,  the  class 


FIGURE  4 — MEMBER’S  INDIVIDUAL  WEEKLY  REPORT 


issued  a  weekly  bulletin  containing  a  complete  mem¬ 
bership  roll  on  the  last  page.  The  Secretary  of  that 
particular  class  simply  checked  off  the  names  of 
those  present,  on  this  bulletin  each  Sunday,  trans¬ 
ferring  this  record  to  his  permanent  record,  later 
in  the  week.  A  larger  class  with  a  membership  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  uses  a  printed  envelope  with 
spaces  for  name,  address,  daily  Bible  reading  and 
amount  of  offering,  and  in  the  case  of  visitors,  the 


Class  Records 


159 


home  address  and  church.  Each  attendant  receives 
and  marks  his  envelope  and  deposits  his  offering. 
The  Secretary  receives  these  envelopes  just  as  soon 
as  the  Treasurer  removes  the  offering,  and  secures 
an  accurate  count  of  the  day’s  attendance.  Still 
other  classes  use  the  “six-point”  system  (published 

_ AGCCA _ ALUMNI _ CLASS  CARD 


AHULU  DEPARTMENT , GRADE.  MONTH  Oflt  .  19M2 


1st  SUNDAY 

2d  SUNDAY 

3d  SUNDAY 

«th  SUNDAY 

Stb  SUNDAY 

NAME 

■6 

c 

§ 

< 

9 

g 

£ 

a 

O 

8 

Xu 

£ 

be 

c 

T 

9 

to 

O 

6 

£ 

J 

Prch.  At.  | 

•u 

c 

£ 

< 

On  Time 

8 

3 

£ 

u 

c 

9 

to 

O 

2 

Cl, 

3 

< 

A 

9 

Ch 

•d 

c 

£ 

< 

[  On  Time  \ 

J 

A 

£ 

tc 

a 

z 

9- 

to 

O 

<9 

£ 

3 

Prch.  At.  1 

-6 

O' 

£ 

< 

On  Time  | 

8 

A 

£ 

Offering  1 

cl 

£ 

3 

< 

A 

2 

•6 

2 

2 

< 

9 

a 

£ 

c 

O 

8 

3 

£ 

be 

C 

T 

at 

to 

O 

£ 

3 

.Prch.  At.  | 

Mo. 

Avg. 

Grade 

C.Borth  Teacher, 

7 

✓ 

✓ 

v' 

/ 

7 

F. .  Rml  th 

? 

to 

7 

• 

D.M. Lawrence 

7 

✓ 

7 

7 

7 

George  Dever 

✓ 

7 

7 

Y 

7 

?j 

G.  Willis 

if 

1 

H.T. Kemper 

✓ 

✓ 

* 

G. Sanders 

7 

7 

/ 

u> 

/ 

* 

I..  E.  Bogy 

✓ 

✓ 

/ 

S 

7 

J. Render er 

7 

7 

7 

• 

Chaa.  Sflnnnr 

7 

P  .  H  -  Fh  i Q m  i  r\ 

✓ 

Totals. 

11 

l 

k 

8 

8 

1 

Amount  of  Offering. 

FORM  30.  BAPTIST  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  BOARO.  NASHVILLE.  TCNN. 

FIGURE  5 — SIX-POINT  CLASS  RECORD  CARD. 

FURNISHED  IN  LOOSE-LEAF  FORM  FOR  LARGER  CLASSES. 

by  Sunday  School  Board,  Nashville,  Tenn.),  using 
a  record  card  which  is  marked  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  envelope.  This  particular  card  (Figure  4) 
has  space  not  only  for  the  name  and  address,  but  also 
for  marking  other  important  information  such  as 
punctuality,  offering  made,  Bible  brought,  daily 
Bible  reading,  and  attendance  at  preaching  service. 


160  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


It  is  easily  seen  that  such  a  record,  faithfully  kept 
is  an  asset  to  every  officer. 

Permanent  File 

All  records  obtained  at  the  class  meetings  should 
be  transferred  to  a  permanent  record.  One  of  the 


Nan 

Hon 

Bus 

Secretary’s  Attendance  Card  . . . J9. 

it  Address  Married 

ness  Address  and  Occupation  Telephone 

JAN. 

FEB. 

MCH. 

APL. 

MAY 

JUNE 

JULY 

AUG. 

SEPT. 

OCT. 

NOV. 

DEC. 

* 

ATTENDANCE— D»y»  la  Var; 

Form  I4&  iaiorlrtu  B.ptIM  PobllwtloB  ImI.ij 

FIGURE  6 — SECRETARY’S  PERMANENT  ATTENDANCE  RECORD 


very  best  is  the  card  record  (Figure  6),  published  by 
the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  contain¬ 
ing  space  for  recording  the  member’s  name,  ad¬ 
dress,  phone,  business  address,  whether  married  or 
single,  whether  a  Christian,  and  also  space  for  one 
year’s  attendance.  Such  a  record  can  always  be 
kept  clean  of  dead  timber,  all  removed  members 
being  transferred  to  an  “Old  Member  File.” 


Class  Records 


161 


Records  of  Business  Meetings 

Accurate  records  should  also  be  kept  of  the  at¬ 
tendance  of  class  officers  at  the  officers’  meetings, 
and  of  all  the  members  at  the  regular  business  meet¬ 
ings.  Does  the  class  President  know  who  is  regular 
at  the  business  meetings,  and  who  is  always  on 
time?  Does  he  know  how  often  his  officers  have 
missed  cabinet  meetings  ?  Does  the  Entertainer 
know  what  the  average  attendance  is  at  business 
meetings,  and  who  is  regular?  If  he  does,  it  will 
help  him  decide  on  the  refreshments,  and  in  mak¬ 
ing  up  a  program.  Records  of  business  meetings 
indicate  very  clearly  why  certain  class  work  is  not 
developing  as  it  should.  These  facts  regarding 
these  two  important  meetings  can  be  presented  to 
the  class  and  will  usually  bring  about  desired  im¬ 
provement. 

Enrollment  Records 

One  of  the  most  important  records  that  the  Sec¬ 
retary  will  keep  is  that  of  information  about  the 
class  members.  While  each  officer  will  keep  some 
individual  record  pertaining  to  his  own  department, 
the  Secretary  will  keep  a  complete  record  of  all  the 
information  that  he  can  secure,  recording  it  on 
cards  or  on  individual  sheets  in  a  loose  leaf  book. 
(See  Figure  7.)  Such  a  record  should  contain 
name,  address,  business  and  business  address,  home 


162  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


and  business  phone,  married  or  single,  living  at 
home  or  boarding,  hobby,  activities  preferred,  and 
in  the  case  of  new  members,  the  church,  class  and 
town  from  which  they  came.  Such  information  is 
valuable  to  all  officers.  The  Teacher  can  base  lesson 
assignments  on  the  information  given,  the  Enter- 


^Maplewood  Agoga  Bible  Class. 


Name — ■ - - — - 

Residence - . - 

Business  Address  — — — — - - - — 

Occupation - - 

Married,  n?  Church  Member . . 

Previous  Church  Connection - 

Church  Preference . — - - - 

Activities  Preferred  — - — - - 

Willingness  to  participate - - — 

Res.  Phone . . . . 

Date  joined  Class - - 


Bus.  Phone 


—  1 

—  ) 

»»  * 


Remarks  on  other  Side. 


FIGURE  7 — ENROLLMENT  CARD 


tainer  will  base  his  activities  on  the  facts  shown  by 
the  record,  and  so  with  the  other  officers.  The  Sec¬ 
retary  should  make  every  effort  to  keep  this  record 
absolutely  up-to-date,  for  every  officer  will  from 
time  to  time  want  this  information,  particularly  that 
pertaining  to  addresses  and  phone  numbers.  An 
out-of-date  record  is  really  worse  than  none  at  all 
as  it  results  in  waste  effort  and  waste  postage. 


Class  Records 


163 


Withdrawal  Records 

No  man’s  name  should  ever  be  stricken  from  the 
class  roll  unless  he  has  moved  from  town,  joined 
another  class  or  died.  The  reason  for  every  with¬ 
drawal  should  be  noted  on  the  member’s  enrollment 
card — it  is  dangerous  to  drop  men  who  might  be 
re-enlisted  in  class  work  if  effort  were  made. 

Birthday  Records 

Some  classes  keep  a  chronological  record  of 
birthdays,  and  mail  cards  to  each  member  on  his 
birthday. 

School  Records 

In  many  cases  some  records  mentioned  are  kept 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School  of  which 
the  class  is  part.  The  class  Secretary  will  cooperate 
with  the  school  Secretary  in  every  way  to  avoid 
duplicate  effort. 

Using  the  Records 

Reports,  no  matter  how  complete,  are  of  little 
value  if  just  kept  in  the  Secretary’s  record  file. 
Using  the  statistics  is  two-thirds  of  the  live  Secre¬ 
tary’s  job.  The  weekly  attendance  record  should 
be  placed  upon  a  blackboard  ruled  for  the  purpose, 
and  commented  upon  briefly  by  the  Secretary. 
Each  member  should  receive  monthly  or  at  least 


164  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


quarterly  a  summary  report  from  the  Secretary, 
showing  the  number  of  times  present  or  absent,  the 
number  of  times  late,  etc.,  with  a  suggestion  that 
the  record  be  improved,  or  a  word  of  commenda¬ 
tion  for  a  good  record.  Frequent  summaries 
should  be  prepared  for  distribution,  publication  in 
the  class  paper,  or  posting  on  the  blackboard.  The 
Secretary  occupies  a  strategic  position  in  the  depart¬ 
mental  scheme  of  organization;  he  can  greatly  help 
his  class  by  rendering  full  cooperation  to  the  other 
officers. 

As  soon  as  a  new  member  is  voted  into  the  class, 
the  Secretary  should  have  him  fill  in  his  enrollment 
card.  A  card  containing  the  information  desired 
by  the  Teacher  will  be  made  out  and  given  to  him, 
as  will  also  one  for  the  Treasurer.  A  copy  will 
also  be  made  for  the  General  Secretary  of  the 
School. 

Each  week  and  as  early  in  the  week  as  possible, 
the  Secretary  should  see  that  the  Teacher,  Presi¬ 
dent  and  the  Visitor  are  given  the  attendance  record 
of  the  previous  week,  including  the  names  of  all 
the  absentees.  These  officers  can  then  put  forth 
their  best  efforts  to  bring  back  the  absent  members. 
The  Teacher,  President,  and  Vice-President  should 
also  receive  a  list  of  visitors,  so  that  they  may  fol¬ 
low  them  and  try  to  make  regular  members  out  of 
them.  If  the  class  publishes  a  class  paper  or  uses 


Class  Records 


165 


space  in  the  church  bulletin  or  local  papers,  the  Sec¬ 
retary  will  consider  that  a  fertile  field  for  his  en¬ 
deavors.  He  should  see  that  the  Reporter  is  fur¬ 
nished  with  attendance  facts  for  each  Sunday,  and 
also  comparative  statistics  for  publication.  Some 
classes  run  a  tabulation  in  their  class  papers  which 
shows  the  attendance  for  the  previous  Sunday  com¬ 
pared  with  the  same  Sunday  one  year  before,  the 
average  attendance  to  date  and  for  the  preceding 
year,  the  number  of  “on  timers,”  visitors,  daily 
Bible  readers,  signed  contributors  and  amount  of 
offering.  One  class  designates  this  part  of  its  paper 
as  “The  Ticker,”  another,  “The  Class  Pendulum.” 
In  one  men’s  class  the  Secretary  furnishes  the  Re¬ 
porter  a  monthly  list  of  those  attending  every  Sun¬ 
day  during  the  month.  These  names  are  published 
as  an  honor  roll.  A  list  of  the  daily  Bible  readers 
for  the  month  is  also  stimulating.  Such  facts  sim¬ 
ply  bristle  with  interest  not  only  to  the  members, 
but  to  visitors,  and  others  who  receive  the  class 
publication. 

The  good  Secretary  will  have  all  this  information 
handy,  for  use  at  any  time  that  he  may  be  called 
upon  to  furnish  it.  He  will  be  called  upon  fre¬ 
quently  by  the  Sunday  School  and  the  Church  for 
class  records  to  be  incorporated  in  complete  records 
which  are  presented  to  district  and  state  associa¬ 
tions;  these  statistics  should  be  correct. 


166  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


hi:  records  historical 

By  “Historical  Records”  we  mean  minutes  of 
meetings,  records  of  special  occurrences  and  the  like. 
The  Secretary  should  keep  complete  though  not 
necessarily  voluminous  records  of  every  class  meet¬ 
ing.  First,  of  course,  will  naturally  come  the  regu¬ 
lar  class  business  meetings.  Secretaries  sometimes 
make  the  mistake  of  attempting  to  record  almost 
verbatim  all  discussions  of  such  meetings.  Nothing 
will  tend  to  make  a  Secretary  discouraged  as  much 
as  the  laborious  effort  of  keeping  such  a  record. 
The  purpose  of  the  class  minutes  is  to  record  class 
action.  Discussion  leading  to  such  action  is  rarely 
of  sufficient  importance  to  be  included  in  the  min¬ 
utes  of  a  class  business  meeting.  All  that  is  neces¬ 
sary  is  a  brief  record  of  the  motion  as  stated,  with 
the  name  of  the  mover  and  the  seconder  if  desired, 
and  the  action  taken  by  the  class. 

Similarly  brief  records  should  be  kept  of  the 
Sunday  morning  sessions.  In  these  meetings  there 
will  be  very  few  motions  to  record,  but  there  will 
be  other  business  worthy  of  note.  Attendance 
should  be  recorded  and  also  the  weather.  Brief 
mention  should  always  be  made  of  talks  by  special 
speakers,  and  even  the  regular  lesson  subject  might 
be  given. 

Officers'  meetings  differ  from  business  meetings,. 


Class  Records 


167 


in  that  there  is  little  formal  business,  but  consider¬ 
able  discussion.  The  Secretary  should  record  the 
substance  of  all  discussion  taking  place,  but  as  cau¬ 
tioned  previously  should  not  attempt  to  give  a 
lengthy  account  of  every  point. 

The  Secretary  will  virtually  be  a  class  historian. 
His  minutes  will  in  many  respects  check  his  sta¬ 
tistical  record.  The  minutes  if  properly  prepared 
will  show  just  what  the  class  has  done  at  each  period 
of  its  history.  All  special  events  will  be  mentioned 
and  briefly  written  up.  Copies  of  the  constitution 
and  by-laws,  programs  of  class  services  of  a  special 
nature,  and  of  class  entertainments  will  be  pre¬ 
served,  not  only  as  mere  history,  but  so  that  the 
past  may  be  a  guide  for  the  future. 

IV :  CLASS  CORRESPONDENCE 

While  some  of  the  details  in  connection  with  the 
record  keeping  should  be  delegated  to  assistants,  the 
class  correspondence  will  usually  be  handled  by  the 
Secretary  himself.  Unless  the  class  is  so  small  as 
to  have  but  a  few  officers,  the  Secretary  will  not 
send  out  notices  of  meetings  nor  conduct  direct-by¬ 
mail  recruiting  campaigns.  The  Visitor,  Vice- 
President,  Entertainer  and  Reporter  will  carry  on 
most  of  the  correspondence  within  the  class.  In 
case  of  necessity,  the  Secretary  will,  of  course,  co- 


168  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


operate  with  all  other  officers  to  the  extent  of  his 
time  and  ability,  but  he  should  not  be  expected  to 
carry  on  two  officers’  work  at  one  time.  Local  con¬ 
ditions  may  make  some  changes  advisable,  but  on 
the  whole  it  will  be  best  for  the  Secretary  to  con¬ 
fine  his  efforts  to  records  and  outside  corre¬ 
spondence. 

If  it  can  afford  it,  the  class  should  have  station¬ 
ery  printed  with  the  class  name,  address,  motto, 
emblem  and  the  officers’  names.  This  might  even 
be  furnished  to  class  members  for  personal  corre¬ 
spondence,  as  a  class  advertisement. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

McIntyre,  “The  Sunday  School  Secretary.” 

Strickland  and  McGlothlin,  “Building  the  Bible 
Class,”  pp.  48-53- 


Chapter  Twelve 


CLASS  FINANCES 

i:  THE  TREASURER 

The  Giving  Attitude 

UPON  the  class  Treasurer  rests  not  only  the  re¬ 
sponsibility  of  collecting  money,  but  also  of 
stimulating  a  right  attitude  toward  giving.  In  pro¬ 
moting  the  grace  of  liberality  he  will  appeal  not 
primarily  to  class  loyalty  or  loyalty  to  a  special  cause 
being  fostered,  but  rather  to  the  man’s  sense  of 
duty — his  obligation  to  God,  who  has  given  him  all 
that  he  has.  Regular  and  systematic  giving,  with 
the  tithe  as  the  minimum  for  religious  purposes, 
should  be  the  Treasurer’s  ideal  for  each  member. 

Qualifications 

For  the  office  of  Treasurer,  the  class  should  select 
a  man  largely  because  of  his  outstanding  business 
ability.  Here,  of  all  places,  it  is  important  that 
business  methods  be  used  to  bring  results. 

It  is  only  by  using  tact  that  the  Treasurer  will 
be  able  to  encourage  regularity,  liberality.  He 
must  know  how  to  approach  the  members  who  think 

that  they  are  not  earning  enough  to  become  regular 

169 


170  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


contributors  and  how  to  remind  members  who  are 
delinquent  in  paying  pledges,  without  appearing  too 
persistent. 

The  Position  of  Treasurer  is  a  Christian  calling 
in  the  strongest  sense.  Whereas  the  President  will 
emphasize  personal  consecration,  the  Treasurer  will 
emphasize  “Purse  and  All”  consecration.  It  is  only 
consistent  that  he  set  the  example  by  contributing 
regularly,  and  in  so  far  as  he  is  able,  generously. 

The  man  who  is  selected  for  the  office  of  Treas¬ 
urer  should  have  an  excellent  record  as  a  regular 
attendant.  The  difference  between  a  Treasurer  who 
is  always  on  hand,  and  one  who  is  indifferent,  is 
just  the  difference  between  a  financially  sound  or¬ 
ganization  and  one  that  always  is  a  little  behind  in 
meeting  its  obligations.  In  one  class  with  an 
average  attendance  between  fifteen  and  twenty, 
a  certain  Treasurer  collected  sixty  dollars  a  year  in 
monthly  dues  alone.  In  the  following  year  with  a 
less  regular  attendant  in  charge,  collections  of  dues 
fell  to  twenty  dollars,  with  no  drop  in  membership. 
The  first  Treasurer  was  on  the  job  every  Sunday. 
The  men  who  were  absent  the  first  Sunday,  he 
reached  on  the  second,  third  or  fourth  Sunday; 
the  second  Treasurer  passed  collection  envelopes  to 
members  on  the  first  Sunday  of  the  month  only — 
and  missed  all  those  who  were  absent  on  that  Sun¬ 
day,  but  who  attended  later  in  the  month. 


Class  Finances 


171 


II :  CLASS  FUNDS 

Sunday  Offerings 

The  regular  Sunday  morning  offering  belongs  to 
the  Sunday  School  and  should  be  used  according 
to  the  plan  of  the  School.  The  organized  classes 
are  part  of  the  school  and  subject  to  its  rules  and 
regulations.  Adult  classes  often  think  of  them¬ 
selves  as  separate  departments  rather  than  only  a 
small  unit  of  a  larger  organization.  The  Treasurer 
and  other  officers  should  make  every  effort  to  im¬ 
press  this  fact  upon  class  members  who  have  a 
wrong  perspective. 

Many  schools  authorize  the  organized  classes  to 
buy  their  own  supplies  and  to  retain  a  portion  of 
the  Sunday  collections  for  that  purpose.  Some 
classes  retain  the  collections  on  the  odd  Sundays  of 
the  month,  while  the  school  takes  the  offerings  of 
the  even  Sundays.  Others  divide  all  collections 
evenly. 

In  other  cases  the  classes  simply  ask  the  Sun¬ 
day  School  to  state  what  is  expected  of  them  dur¬ 
ing  the  year  and  pay  that  much,  retaining  all  offer¬ 
ings  above  that  amount.  The  ideal  way  is  to  turn 
all  the  Sunday  collections  into  the  Sunday  School 
treasury  and  permit  the  school  to  purchase  the  class 
supplies,  just  as  they  are  purchased  for  all  other 
classes.  Whatever  arrangements  are  made,  should 


172  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


be  acceptable  to  the  school,  not  dictated  by  the 
class. 

Class  Dues 

There  are  always  expenses  in  connection  with 
organized  class  work,  aside  from  the  cost  of  les¬ 
son  material,  entertainments,  class  social  service, 
flowers,  stationery,  and  the  like.  Many  classes 
meet  such  expenses  by  having  monthly  dues.  No 
attempt  should  be  made  in  a  Bible  class  to  fix 
dues,  unless  they  are  low  enough  that  even  the  poor¬ 
est  member  will  be  able  to  pay  them.  The  method 
to  be  preferred  is  a  voluntary  pledge  to  pay  a  cer¬ 
tain  amount  each  month  until  the  pledge  is  canceled. 
The  tactful  treasurer  will  be  able  to  suggest  the 
amount  to  any  member  who  does  not  know  just 
how  much  he  should  pay.  The  By-Laws  of  one 
men’s  class  provides  for  monthly  dues  of  twenty- 
five  cents  if  the  member  can  pay  it,  but  emphasizes 
the  fact  that  the  dues  are  voluntary. 

It  will  be  well  for  the  Treasurer  to  provide  a 
special  class  envelope  for  the  collection  of  the  dues, 
this  to  carry  the  class  name  and  emblem,  name  of 
the  member,  date  and  amount  due.  Sometimes  a 
man  may  find  it  inconvenient  to  pay  just  at  the  time 
that  the  envelope  is  given  him;  he  can  then  put  it 
in  his  pocket  as  a  reminder  for  later  payment.  The 
tactful  Treasurer  will  not  be  too  insistent  about 


Class  Finances 


173 


class  dues.  If  a  month’s  dues  are  unpaid,  he  may 
simply  note  the  unpaid  total  on  the  following 
month’s  envelope.  Such  a  plan  can  hardly  give 
even  the  most  indifferent  member  an  idea  that 
money  is  all  the  class  wants. 

Advertising  Funds 

Many  classes  that  issue  class  papers  secure  ad¬ 
vertising  to  cover  the  cost  of  publication.  It  usu¬ 
ally  falls  to  the  Treasurer’s  lot  to  secure  the  adver¬ 
tisements  and  also  to  collect  for  them.  While  the 
ideal  class  paper  is  free  from  advertising,  yet  be¬ 
cause  of  the  expense  of  publishing,  it  may  be  neces¬ 
sary  to  accept  some  ads.  Care  should  be  taken 
to  accept  only  clean  copy,  and  not  as  in  one  actual 
instance,  a  pool  room  ad.  The  Treasurer  should 
try  to  make  the  advertising  pay  for  the  paper — 
but  the  class  should  try  to  make  the  advertising  pay 
the  advertiser.  Speaking  from  the  standpoint  of 
an  advertising  man,  this  sort  of  advertising  hardly 
ever  does  pay  the  advertiser. 

Payment  of  Bills 

All  money  passing  through  the  class  should  go 
through  the  Treasurer.  He  should  open  a  class 
account  in  a  local  bank  for  the  deposit  of  class 
funds,  and  for  sake  of  record  should  make  all  pay¬ 
ments  by  check.  Under  no  circumstances  should 


174  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


class  funds  be  deposited  in  any  officer’s  personal 
account — mistakes  are  too  easily  made.  All  bills 
should  be  presented  to  the  Treasurer  for  payment. 
Only  confusion  results  if  individuals  are  permitted 
to  purchase  supplies  and  pay  for  them.  No  indi¬ 
vidual  should  ever  purchase  supplies  unless  previ¬ 
ously  authorized  by  the  class  to  do  so.  It  is  much 
better  for  the  Treasurer  himself  to  place  all  orders, 
for  then  checking  bills  is  easy.  The  Treasurer  will 
include  all  paid  bills  in  his  monthly  report  to  the 
class.  Some  classes  require  all  bills  to  be  counter¬ 
signed  by  the  President  before  payment,  as  an  extra 
check. 

Hi:  THE  BUDGET  SYSTEM 

If  the  class  is  to  be  run  on  a  business  basis  busi¬ 
ness  methods  must  be  used.  Nowhere  has  there 
been  less  business  discernment  in  religious  organiza¬ 
tions  than  in  the  field  of  finance.  Note  the  num¬ 
ber  of  special  collections  taken  in  church  organiza¬ 
tions  every  year — repeated  calls  upon  the  member¬ 
ship  for  contributions  to  meet  some  unforeseen 
need.  The  writer  has  many  times  seen  the  ap¬ 
proach  of  the  baseball  season,  with  its  sudden  en¬ 
thusiasm  for  a  class  ball  team.  Then  came  the 
inevitable  special  drive  for  funds  to  buy  uniforms, 
pay  entrance  fee  to  the  Sunday  School  League,  etc. 
And  so  with  many  other  class  activities. 


Glass  Finances 


175 


To  attain  best  results  the  class  should  survey 
its  probable  needs  for  the  year  and  plan  a  budget 
to  cover  those  needs.  In  forming  the  budget,  the 
past  year’s  activities  will  be  a  guide  as  to  the  possi¬ 
bilities  of  the  next  year.  The  class  should  consider 
whether  the  money  raised  during  the  past  year  rep¬ 
resented  ioo  per  cent  possibilities — usually  it  will 
not  have  done  so.  All  the  usual  and  some  unusual 
needs  should  be  provided  for  in  the  budget.  Include 
the  agreed-upon  offering  to  the  Sunday  School,  cost 
of  class  lesson  material,  new  equipment,  entertain¬ 
ment  at  the  regular  business  meetings,  the  athletic 
program,  general  entertainments,  lyceum  courses, 
up-keep  of  the  class  room,  contribution  to  church 
building  needs,  social  service,  sending  flowers  to  sick 
members,  thanksgiving  offerings  and  missions. 

After  the  class  has  voted  to  adopt  the  budget, 
the  Treasurer  should  urge  all  members  to  support 
it  strongly.  A  special  financial  Sunday  might  be 
planned  with  a  drive  to  secure  sufficient  pledges  to 
underwrite  the  budget.  The  Treasurer  will  make 
personal  calls  on  those  members  who  will  not  be 
reached  on  the  special  Sunday.  In  carrying  out  the 
plans,  appeal  in  all  cases  to  the  higher  motives  of 
duty  in  securing  pledges.  Printed  sets  of  class 
envelopes  in  cartons  may  be  given  to  the  members 
to  facilitate  making  regular  offerings.  If  such  a 
budget  plan  is  worked,  regular  giving  will  be  stim- 


176  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 

ulated,  there  will  be  no  undue  hardship  placed  upon 
any  member,  no  special  calls  during  the  year,  and 
always  enough  money  on  hand  to  meet  class  needs. 

In  the  more  progressive  churches  the  class  budget 
is  made  part  of  the  general  Sunday  School  budget, 
which  in  turn  becomes  part  of  the  budget  of  the  en¬ 
tire  church.  Then  instead  of  a  member  contributing 
to  the  church  and  separately  to  his  class,  he  makes 
but  one  annual  pledge,  and  but  one  weekly  offering. 
This  plan  makes  it  convenient  for  members,  and 
unifies  the  church  program.  Adult  class  Treasurers 
will  contribute  greatly  toward  church  progress  by 
starting  movements  in  their  local  churches  for  the 
adoption  of  this  plan. 

iv :  the  treasurer's  records 

As  attendance  records  have  been  shown  to  be 
important,  so  too  are  financial  records — both  for 
purpose  of  having  information  regarding  individual 
•contributors,  and  for  statistical  comparison.  If  the 
Treasurer  has  bookkeeping  experience,  it  will  be 
helpful — if  not,  the  few  simple  principles  suited  to 
the  Bible  Class  are  easily  learned. 

A  simple  form  for  class  record  keeping  (Figure 
8)  is  appended,  in  which  certain  general  classes 
of  transactions  are  separated  for  purpose  of  an¬ 
alyzing  the  receipts  and  expenditures.  Such  a  form 


Class  Finances 


177 


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FIGURE  8 — ILLUSTRATING  A  SIMPLE  SYSTEM  OF  CLASS 

ACCOUNTS 


178  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


may  be  as  elaborate  as  class  activities  may  warrant. 
The  two  sides  of  the  account  should  be  balanced 
monthly.  If  the  total  expenditures  plus  the  money 
on  hand,  equals  the  total  receipts,  plus  money  on 
hand  at  the  beginning  of  the  month,  then  the  Treas¬ 
urer  knows  that  his  accounts  are  correct.  This 
form  makes  it  easy  to  make  comprehensive  reports 


A h _  Treasurer’s  Collection  Record  Pledge 

Name  Address 


FIGURE  9 — TREASURER’S  INDIVIDUAL  COLLECTION  RECORD — 
PLEDGE  FORM  ON  REVERSE  SIDE 


of  class  expenditures.  All  money  passing  through 
the  class  should  be  entered  on  the  books  even 
though,  as  in  the  case  of  Sunday  offerings,  it  is 
turned  in  to  the  Sunday  School  at  once. 

Individual  records  should  be  kept  of  all  dues  col¬ 
lected  from  members  and  totals  by  weeks  and 
months.  Such  records  can  usually  be  best  handled 


Class  Finances 


179 


on  individual  record  cards.  The  card  shown  (Fig¬ 
ure  9)  is  a  splendid  combination  pledge  card  and 
record  of  contributions. 

As  previously  stated,  all  expenditures  should  be 
presented  to  the  class  at  the  monthly  business  meet¬ 
ing  for  its  approval.  At  each  of  these  meetings 
a  complete  report  of  the  activities  of  the  Treasurer 
and  his  assistants  should  be  made,  covering  all 
money  received,  paid,  and  balance  on  hand. 

The  Treasurer  should  also  present  an  annual  re¬ 
port  covering  all  financial  activities  during  the  year. 
This  report  should  be  submitted  to  the  Sunday 
School  for  its  annual  report  to  the  church. 

To  protect  the  Treasurer  and  to  catch  any  inac¬ 
curacies  that  might  have  crept  into  the  records,  the 
class  should  appoint  annually  an  auditing  committee 
to  check  the  accounts. 

v:  OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  SERVICE 

The  live  Treasurer  will  find  ample  opportunity 
for  further  service.  Who  is  better  fitted  to  serve 
as  class  representative  on  the  church  finance  com¬ 
mittee?  Since  the  Treasurer’s  function  is  also  to 
promote  the  grace  of  giving,  he  will  cooperate  with 
the  Librarian  in  distributing  literature  on  steward¬ 
ship,  tithing,  etc.,  which  may  be  secured  from  the 
denominational  publishing  houses,  Laymen’s  Mis- 


180  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


sionary  Movement,  Mission  Boards,  and  from  the 
national  offices  of  the  Christian  Endeavor,  Epworth 
League,  Baptist  Young  People’s  Union,  etc.  He 
may  even  assist  the  Teacher  occasionally  in  con¬ 
ducting  a  special  study  course  on  “The  Bible  and 
Money,”  or  “Stewardship,”  or  something  similar. 
He  will  see  that  the  Reporter  is  furnished  with  all 
statistics  of  his  office  for  publication  in  the  class  or 
church  bulletin. 

Of  course  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  Treas¬ 
urer  will  do  all  these  things  alone — not  if  he  is  a 
real  business  man.  He,  too,  will  have  his  corps  of 
assistants,  one  to  help  collect  dues,  one  or  two  to 
handle  advertising,  and  others  as  needed.  The 
Treasurer  should  be  comparatively  free  so  that  he 
may  plan  to  make  his  office  a  spiritual  force  second 
only  to  that  of  the  Teacher  and  President. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Agar,  “Modern  Money  Methods  for  the  Church.” 


Chapter  Thirteen 

DEVELOPING  THE  SOCIAL  INSTINCTS 

i:  THE  ENTERTAINER  AND  HIS  OPPORTUNITY 

CLASS  social  affairs  are  not  to  be  considered 
as  bribes  offered  to  bring  men  into  the  class 
nor  to  hold  them  after  they  are  in — they  do  both, 
but  only  incidentally.  The  chief  values  of  class 
social  life  are  five-fold: 

i.  The  development  of  the  complete  man  by  min¬ 
istering  to  his  social  needs; 

2.  Unsuspected  traits  of  character  are  revealed 
at  social  affairs,  when  men  are  “off  their 
guard 

3.  Character  is  built  through  the  inhibition  of 
individualistic  traits — a  positive  effect  of  so¬ 
cial  intercourse; 

4.  Opportunity  is  offered  Christian  workers  at 
informal  social  gatherings  to  reach  men  who 
are  antagonistic  to  the  Gospel  message  when 
formally  taught; 

3.  A  thoroughly  enthusiastic  spirit  of  Christian 
fellowship  is  created  within  the  class — a  spirit 
that  grows  only  as  the  men  meet  informally 
at  various  class  gatherings  and  learn  to  know 
each  other. 


181 


182  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


For  the  nurturing  of  the  social  life  of  the  class, 
the  Entertainer  is  responsible.  The  class  will  find 
it  advisable  to  elect  to  this  office,  a  man  who  is  a 
good  mixer  among  men  and  also  a  good  Christian. 
Natural  ability  to  entertain,  and  to  plan  interesting 
programs  is  to  be  prized,  but  is  not  essential  if  ex¬ 
ecutive  ability  is  possessed  by  the  man  selected  to 
handle  this  phase  of  the  work.  The  Entertainer 
will  be  sufficiently  familiar  with  games,  sports, 
music  and  entertainments,  to  at  least  exercise  gen¬ 
eral  supervision  of  the  social  program.  He  should 
personally  assume  detailed  direction  of  only  the 
activities  with  which  he  is  thoroughly  familiar. 
The  ideal  Entertainer  is  a  commander-in-chief  who 
outlines  and  directs  the  general  campaign  of  class 
social  activities.  He  has  assistants  for  the  several 
sports  in  which  the  class  engages,  others  for  music, 
for  refreshments,  for  entertainment,  etc. — all  spe¬ 
cialists  in  their  respective  lines. 


II :  SOCIAL  AFFAIRS  WITHIN  THE  CLASS 

Get-together  Meetings 

The  regular  monthly  class  business  meeting  rep¬ 
resents  one  of  the  big  opportunities  of  the  Enter¬ 
tainer — no  class  should  neglect  the  social  features 
of  such  meetings.  If  the  business  and  social  fea¬ 
tures  are  properly  correlated  each  will  serve  to 


Developing  the  Social  Instincts  183 

stimulate  interest  in  the  meeting.  About  forty-five 
minutes  should  be  devoted  to  business  and  an  equal 
amount  to  the  social  program.  An  interesting  pro¬ 
gram  is  the  whole  secret  of  a  successful  social  and 
business  meeting. 

Entertainment  at  the  business  meetings  should 
usually  be  somewhat  light.  A1  short,  snappy  pro¬ 
gram  liberally  sprinkled  with  humorous  features  is 
much  to  be  preferred  to  a  long  one  of  a  more  serious 
nature.  The  program  of  entertainment  should  be 
varied  from  month  to  month;  it  may  include  music 
by  class  members — vocal  and  instrumental — brief 
humorous  sketches,  usually  written  by  men  of  the 
class,  and  often  about  the  members;  humorous  read¬ 
ings,  and  debates  among  the  members.  Even  de¬ 
bates  should  be  in  a  light  vein.  The  following  sub¬ 
jects  have  been  used  by  men’s  classes  with  good 
success : 

Resolved :  that  men  should  be  protected  from  suf¬ 
fragettes. 

Resolved :  that  this  program  would  have  been  bet¬ 
ter  without  the  debate. 

Resolved :  that  women  are  more  extravagant 
than  men. 

An  extemporaneous  debate  offers  an  occasional 
happy  variation  of  the  program.  If  serious  topics 
are  chosen  for  debate  a  time  limit  of  five  or  six 
minutes  for  each  speaker  should  be  set.  The 


184  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


writer  recalls  the  harrowing  experience  of  listening 
to  one  debater  speak  thirty-five  minutes  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  capital  punishment.  An  attempt  to  make 
the  monthly  Get-together  meeting  too  educational 
will  defeat  its  ultimate  purpose. 

Men  always  enjoy  light  refreshments  at  class 
meetings.  Some  classes  even  serve  suppers  before 
the  business  session,  in  many  cases  prepared  by  the 
men  themselves.  Usually  a  charge  of  twenty-five 
cents  a  man  covers  the  cost  of  such  suppers,  which 
should  of  course  be  paid  by  the  men  present.  No 
class  treasury  can  stand  the  strain  of  monthly  sup¬ 
pers  for  the  members. 

The  following  schedule  of  refreshments  show 
how  one  men’s  class  helped  make  its  business  meet¬ 
ings  interesting : 

January — Charlotte  russe  and  cocoa. 

February — Chile  con  carne,  crackers;  coffee  and 
assorted  cakes. 

March — Grape  juice,  soda  and  cakes. 

April — Strawberry  short  cake. 

May— Real  man’s  cake  without  sticky  icings ,  and 
coffee. 

June — Minced  ham  and  pickle  sandwiches,  coffee. 

J  uly — W  atermelon. 

August — Cold  ham,  potato  salad  and  coffee. 
September — Pimento  cheese  sandwiches,  coffee. 
October — Sweet  cider  and  doughnuts. 

November — Pumpkin  pie,  apples  and  coffee. 
December — Annual  banquet. 


Developing  the  Social  Instincts  185 

The  actual  needs  of  the  class  should  always  be 
considered  in  planning  business  and  social  meetings. 
Some  classes  may  not  need  such  a  meeting  every 
month — the  members  may  be  too  busy  to  give  the 
time  to  attend  so  frequently.  If  that  is  the  case, 
meetings  should  be  held  less  often  and  effort  made 
to  increase  attendance  at  the  meetings  that  are  held. 
One  good  meeting  a  year  is  much  better  than  one 
uninteresting  poorly  attended  meeting  held  each 
month.  Bi-monthly  meetings  are  often  a  happy 
compromise.  One  class  of  busy  married  men  holds 
such  meetings  at  the  homes  of  the  members  and  in¬ 
vites  the  wives.  A  certain  large  class  of  men  has 
only  two  meetings  a  year,  one  in  the  winter  for  the 
transaction  of  important  business  and  the  laying  of 
plans  which  are  to  be  carried  out  by  the  officers; 
another  in  summer,  which  takes  the  form  of  a  picnic 
or  entertainment — this  latter  being  purely  a  social 
meeting.  Still  another  class  of  busy  men  have  an 
annual  fishing  trip,  which  is  the  extent  of  their 
week-day  meetings.  Many  classes  in  the  larger 
cities  have  periodical  noonday  luncheons  for  the 
transaction  of  class  business. 

Class  Music 

Nothing  contributes  more  to  the  success  of  social 
affairs  of  the  class  or  the  school  and  church  of 
which  it  is  a  part  than  good  music.  It  is  possible 


186  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


in  almost  every  class  to  organize  an  acceptable  vocal 
quartette,  or  even  a  strong  glee  club.  Instrumental 
organizations  are  possible  even  though  there  are 
only  a  limited  number  of  players;  a  violin,  ’cello 
and  piano;  two  violins,  a  ’cello  and  bass;  two  clar¬ 
inets,  a  flute  and  oboe ;  cornet,  trombone  and  piano ; 
two  cornets,  trombone,  euphonium  and  tuba;  these 
are  all  pleasing  combinations  which  even  the  smaller 
classes  can  organize.  Many  larger  classes  have 
their  own  orchestras  of  from  seven  to  thirty-four 
pieces.  Some  classes  form  the  nucleus  of  Sunday 
School  orchestras,  while  others  are  instrumental  in 
organizing  larger  community  bands.  Neither  large 
numbers,  nor  high  quality  music  is  needed  to  start 
— the  main  thing  is  to  use  the  available  talent — 
quality  will  follow. 

Class  musical  organizations  need  not  confine  their 
efforts  solely  to  sacred  music — a  certain  amount  of 
more  popular  music  adds  interest.  Discretion 
should  be  used,  however,  for  much  of  the  sensa¬ 
tional,  popular  music  of  the  day  is  entirely  unfit  for 
the  use  of  religious  groups.  Music  should  stimulate 
high  ideals  at  all  times. 

The  Annual  Banquet 

The  annual  banquet  may  be  made  a  big  event  in 
the  class  life.  As  with  all  other  affairs,  ample 
preparation  should  be  made  to  assure  a  success.  A 


Developing  the  Social  Instincts  187 

number  of  classes  hold  their  annual  elections  at  the 
class  banquet.  If  that  be  the  case,  there  will  be 
need  of  but  little  other  program,  for  the  campaign 
speeches  usually  furnish  all  the  entertainment  that 
is  necessary.  In  the  event  that  no  election  is  held, 
a  more  elaborate  program  may  be  worked  out,  in¬ 
cluding  toasts  and  responses,  special  music  and  a 
special  speaker  of  note  who  will  bring  a  worthwhile 
message.  A  joint  banquet  of  the  men’s  class  and 
the  women’s  class  of  corresponding  grade,  has 
proven  successful  in  some  Sunday  Schools. 

Class  Picnic 

The  class  picnic  is  usually  a  mixed  picnic,  each 
man  bringing  his  wife  or,  if  unmarried,  some 
woman  friend.  It  may  also  be  a  joint  picnic  between 
the  men’s  and  women’s  classes.  The  Entertainer 
must  plan  a  bright,  novel  program,  not  too  much 
like  the  annual  Sunday  School  picnic.  Let  it  be  a 
day  of  real  play.  Provide  horseshoes,  croquet 
games,  a  number  of  soft  indoor  baseballs,  and  but 
little  urging  will  be  needed  to  induce  every  one  to 
play  informally.  If  the  class  will  seek  a  picnic 
ground  away  from  the  beaten  path,  going  in  a  special 
car  or  automobiles,  interest  will  be  heightened.  One 
class  holds  such  a  picnic  annually  on  July  Fourth; 
any  other  holiday  will  be  suitable.  If  the  picnic 
is  properly  planned,  class  members  will  look  for- 


188  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


ward  impatiently  to  the  next  annual  return  of  the 
date. 

The  Young  Men's  Reception 

In  some  classes  there  is  given  annually  a  recep¬ 
tion  to  all  the  young  men  of  the  community.  In 
college  communities  it  may  be  a  reception  to  all  the 
new  students  coming  to  the  high  school  or  college. 
In  such  an  event  the  Entertainer’s  duty  is  to  furnish 
the  program  and  refreshments,  while  the  Visitor 
and  Vice-President  have  charge  of  the  attendance. 
A  program  of  music  and  entertainment,  a  welcome 
by  the  class  officers  and  an  inspirational  address 
showing  the  value  of  class  affiliation  is  appropriate 
for  such  an  event.  Refreshments  need  not  be 
elaborate — sandwiches,  coffee  and  pie  always  please 
men. 

Clubs 

The  Entertainer  will  determine  the  likes  and  hob¬ 
bies  of  each  member  so  that  he  may  provide  activi¬ 
ties  for  every  one  in  the  class.  Should  some  of 
the  members  desire  to  play  chess  or  checkers,  a  club 
should  be  organized  for  the  purpose  of  giving  those 
men  a  chance  to  indulge  in  that  pastime.  A  camera 
club  might  interest  a  number  of  the  members  and 
would  certainly  be  an  attraction  for  the  class. 
Other  clubs  should  be  organized  for  debating,  liter- 


Developing  the  Social  Instincts  189 

ary  study,  or  science,  if  there  is  a  demand  for  them. 
A  card  record  like  Figure  io  will  enable  the  En¬ 
tertainer  to  secure  such  information. 


JXCapleWood  Bible 
nSx  JJgoga  Class .  vSx 


NAME 


Kindly  check  things  in  which  you  art  especially  Mcrctlsd. 


—Btstatu 

—  Basket  B<u 

—  Bowlins 
— Quoit* 

— Tennis 

— VOCAL  QUARTETTE 
— -Qlie  Club 
— Orchestra 
— Band 

— chamber  Music 


— manoolin  Club 
— Chess  Bi  Checktbb 
—Literature 
— Art 

— Literary  Entertainment 

— Musical 
—  Humorous 
— Class  Social* 

— Debating 
— Public  swearing 


—Teacher  Training 
—Bible  Study 
—Mission* 
—Eugenic* 
—Social  Service 
— Temperance 
—Bovs-  Work 
—Visitation 


Any  other  suggestions  will  be  received  gladly, 
of  this  card. 


JXCark  same  on  reverse  side 


FIGURE  IO — SUGGESTION  CARD  FOR  ENTERTAINER 


III :  MIXED  ENTERTAINMENTS 

Many  splendid  social  affairs  may  be  given  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  women’s  classes  of  corresponding 
grade.  Care  must  be  taken,  however,  to  see  that 
the  participating  groups  are  really  congenial.  The 
writer  has  seen  attempts  at  such  cooperation  result 
in  a  banner  attendance  of  the  women  and  a  mere 
scattered  representation  of  the  men.  This  is  usu¬ 
ally  because  the  men  have  chosen  their  women 
friends  from  some  circle  other  than  the  class  in 
question.  If  such  a  condition  exists,  the  Enter- 


190  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


tainer  should  know  about  it  and  arrange  only  socials 
to  which  the  men  are  invited  to  bring  their  friends 
and  the  women  theirs. 

A  young  men’s  class  and  a  young  women’s  class 
of  the  same  approximate  ages  and  forming  a 
natural  social  group,  gave  a  number  of  Saturday 
afternoon  and  some  evening  picnics  in  the  city 
parks,  which  proved  very  enjoyable  to  all  attending. 
Hayrides  are  always  well  received;  so  are  boat 
excursions.  Hikes  with  wiener  and  marshmallow 
roasts  at  the  end  are  always  popular.  Many  men’s 
and  women’s  classes  always  put  forth  efforts  to  have 
a  large  delegation  at  the  denominational  summer  as¬ 
semblies.  The  groups  camp  together  and  join  with 
each  other  in  the  assembly  activities. 

During  the  winter  season  there  can  be  mixed 
parties  galore — Thanksgiving  parties,  Hallowe’en 
parties,  Christmas  parties,  for  those  home  from 
school  on  vacation,  New  Year’s  Watch  parties, 
George  Washington  parties,  St.  Patrick  parties, 
Valentine  parties,  Easter  parties,  and  many 
others. 

Then  there  may  be  parties  in  between  the  fixed 
festival  days.  A  peanut  party  in  which  all  games, 
refreshments  and  decorations  were  based  on  the 
peanut  has  proven  successful.  There  may  be  a 
farmers’  party  in  which  all  come  dressed  in  rural 


Developing  the  Social  Instincts  191 

costume,  and  partake  of  doughnuts  and  cider;  tacky 
parties  to  which  all  guests  come  dressed  in  some 
ridiculous  costume  are  always  amusing. 

The  writer  recalls  a  most  successful  party  given 
by  two  classes  to  entertain  members  returning  from 
college  for  the  spring  vacation.  Because  the  en¬ 
tire  program  consisted  of  stunts,  and  frivolous 
events,  the  Entertainers  announced  a  “Spring 
Frivolities  Party.”  Cracker  and  pie-eating  contests 
were  held.  A  group  of  young  men  gave  a  “moving 
picture”  show  by  the  simple  expedient  of  acting  be¬ 
fore  a  strong  light  but  behind  a  sheet  placed  between 
them  and  the  audience.  The  “actors”  created  much 
merriment  by  burlesquing  a  scene  in  the  office  of 
one  of  the  class  members,  a  local  dentist.  Carpenter 
tools  were  used  as  dental  instruments.  It  is  re¬ 
markable  how  much  real  enjoyment  may  be  had 
from  an  evening  of  just  such  ridiculous  events. 


IV  :  OPEN  ENTERTAINMENTS 

The  class  might  well  plan  to  have  several  open 
entertainments  to  which  the  public  is  invited,  each 
year.  These  may  be  given  entirely  by  the  class  or 
in  connection  with  other  classes  or  organizations. 
Such  functions  not  only  serve  to  furnish  clean,  high- 
class  entertainment  for  the  church  members  and 


192  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


their  friends,  but  to  advertise  the  class  to  the  com¬ 
munity. 

One  such  entertainment  might  take  the  form  of 
a  musical  evening,  in  which  the  vocal  and  instru¬ 
mental  talent  of  the  class  may  be  utilized.  It  is 
often  possible  to  secure  excellent  outside  talent  at 
reasonable  cost;  such  visitors  enrich  any  program. 
If  a  sufficient  interest  is  shown,  several  musical  lec¬ 
tures  could  be  given,  illustrated  with  piano  and 
phonograph.  There  should  be  occasional  literary 
programs,  consisting  of  readings,  sketches,  debates, 
negro  sermons,  short  lectures  and  possibly  a  little 
music  for  variety.  Some  classes  have  successfully 
presented  a  series  of  popular  lectures  on  literature, 
science,  industry,  arts,  social  problems,  missions, 
etc.  One  of  the  largest  men’s  classes  in  St.  Louis 
for  a  number  of  years  has  presented  a  lyceum  course 
of  high  caliber.  If  a  stereopticon  or  moving  pic¬ 
ture  machine  is  part  of  the  class  equipment  it  will 
be  found  a  valuable  asset.  High  class  films  are 
now  being  produced  for  use  of  religious  organiza¬ 
tions. 

Classes  frequently  present  programs  in  order  to 
secure  funds  for  some  worthy  object.  Such  an  aim 
should  not  obscure  the  greater  social  value  of  open 
entertainments  to  both  the  class  and  the  community. 
Some  classes  ask  for  a  silver  offering  merely  to 
cover  the  expenses. 


Developing  the  Social  Instincts  193 

Dramatics — either  short  sketches  or  longer  plays 
— musical  shows,  minstrels  and  “Old  Deestrick 
Skule”  entertainments  are  always  enjoyable  to  both 
participants  and  audience.  They  take  time  and  ef¬ 
fort  to  prepare,  but  are  worth  it  from  the  social 
standpoint.  Some  classes  are  even  taking  their  own 
moving  pictures,  using  the  class  members  as  prin¬ 
cipals,  and  acting  a  number  of  Biblical  stories. 
This  form  of  dramatics  is  splendid  for  adults  as 
well  as  for  children,  giving  the  actor  an  insight  into 
the  character  he  is  portraying  as  no  amount  of 
listening  to  a  teacher  could  possibly  do. 

The  present  writer  does  not  approve  of  holding 
the  lighter  social  dramatics  in  the  church  audito¬ 
rium.  The  church  ought  always  to  be  associated 
with  worship — let  us  not  make  it  easy  to  associate 
it  with  less  serious  things.  If  the  church  has  no 
social  building,  it  is  usually  possible  to  rent  a  hall 
for  dramatic  performances. 

In  the  field  of  dramatics  the  Entertainer  or  the 
assistant  in  charge  will  find  that  leadership  is  a 
necessity.  Amateur  actors  are  just  as  tempera¬ 
mental  as  the  real  ones  are  reputed  to  be.  He  will 
need  tact  and  patience  in  abundance  to  bring  the 
production  to  a  successful  conclusion. 

The  circus  or  country  fair  is  one  of  the  best  en¬ 
tertainments  for  the  purpose  of  making  money.  A 
suburban  class  of  men  has  given  several  of  these 


194  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


fairs  and  has  always  realized  handsomely  from 
them.  Such  events  are  always  conducted  in  con¬ 
junction  with  other  organizations.  There  are  the 
usual  booths — blankets,  rugs,  etc.,  by  the  Ladies’ 
Aid,  ice  cream  by  the  young  ladies,  candies  in  the 
girls’  booth — possibly  a  fish  pond  and  a  fortune 
teller — and  a  missionary  booth.  The  young  men 
have  charge  of  the  general  arrangements  and  also 
conduct  a  minstrel  or  other  show — this  being  pur¬ 
posely  short  to  permit  several  performances  during 
the  evening.  On  one  occasion  the  class  staged  a 
“bull  fight,”  in  which  horses  were  dummies  made 
of  papier-mache,  strapped  over  the  shoulders  of  the 
riders  who  walked  inside.  The  bull  consisted  of 
two  young  men,  one  holding  on  the  other’s  shoul¬ 
ders — a  cloth  and  papier-mache  bull  was  placed  over 
the  men.  By  sprinkling  sawdust  and  red  paint 
around  the  ring,  a  realistic  atmosphere  was  created. 
Usually  the  bull  was  shot  with  a  cannon.  On  one 
occasion  half  of  the  bull  forgot  his  cue  and  fell  dead 
before  the  other  half — all  of  which  added  to  the 
general  merriment. 

To  make  such  affairs  successful,  a  strong  com¬ 
mittee  on  management  is  needed,  and  one  on  adver¬ 
tising.  All  posters  and  dodgers  should  be  gotten 
out  in  true  circus  style — long  words  and  free  allit¬ 
eration.  Then  advertise  and  advertise. 


Developing  the  Social  Instincts  195 


V:  ATHLETICS 

Bowling,  baseball,  basketball,  tennis  and  indoor 
baseball  may  all  be  on  the  class  athletic  program. 
The  class  tennis  court  offers  probably  the  most  pop¬ 
ular  form  of  athletics,  and  one  that  is  not  prohib¬ 
itive  in  maintenance  cost.  Class  members  can 
easily  find  a  vacant  lot  and  build  their  own  court. 
For  those  who  do  not  indulge  in  strenuous  sports, 
there  may  be  organized  walking  clubs  to  take  long 
hikes  on  pleasant  Sunday  or  Saturday  afternoons. 
Quoit  clubs  have  also  been  successful. 

As  the  class  builds  its  athletic  program,  there 
arises  the  danger  of  turning  the  class  into  an  ath¬ 
letic  club.  Those  in  charge  should  always  remem¬ 
ber  that  athletics  are  a  means  to  an  end — not  the 
end  in  itself.  The  author  has  seen  a  tennis  club 
draw  class  members  from  all  over  the  community 
— all  regular  at  the  courts,  but  rarely  ever  at  class. 
So  with  baseball;  there  is  always  the  temptation  to 
bring  in  the  good  player  from  the  community  to 
build  a  good  team — if  he  is  held  and  becomes  a 
worker,  all  is  well;  very  often  he  attends  just 
enough  to  be  eligible  for  play,  and  after  the  season, 
is  seen  no  more.  One  particular  player  attended 
three  different  classes  in  as  many  years;  he  went 
where  the  ball  team  was.  The  class  should  always 


196  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

keep  its  aim  of  teaching  the  Word  to  win  souls  for 
Christ  always  in  the  foreground.  On  the  other 
hand  athletics  may  establish  the  first  contact  point 
between  the  class  and  a  prospect.  Some  of  the  very 
best  men  workers  of  the  writer’s  acquaintance,  have 
been  brought  into  Christian  service  by  means  of 
some  athletic  feature.  When  a  man  does  attend 
class  and  does  play  ball,  the  class  should  not  neglect 
that  opportunity  to  make  a  definite  and  permanent 
impression  on  him,  regarding  his  Christian  duty. 

VI  :  THE  CLASS  ROOM 

It  will  probably  be  well  for  the  class  to  include 
the  care  of  the  class  room  among  the  duties  of  the 
Entertainer.  This  would  consist  of  the  decoration 
of  the  room,  the  selection  and  placing  of  pictures 
on  the  walls,  carpets  on  the  floors,  curtains  on 
the  windows,  and  flowers  on  the  table  at  class  meet¬ 
ings.  Every  effort  should  be  made  to  make  the 
class  room  comfortable,  inviting  and  homelike.  It 
is  easier  to  hold  men  in  an  inviting  room  than  in 
one  that  is  bare  and  uncomfortable.  In  this  con¬ 
nection  do  not  forget  ventilation.  Many  a  good 
lesson  has  been  utterly  ruined  by  a  vitiated  atmos¬ 
phere. 

The  class  can  easily  secure  pictures  to  decorate 
the  room — prints  of  famous  masterpieces  are  ob- 


Developing  the  Social  Instincts  197 

tainable  at  reasonable  prices — photographs  taken  by 
members  are  frequently  valuable  additions  to  the 
walls — the  picture  of  the  class  itself  should  of  course 
be  hung.  It  is  desirable  to  have  an  annual  class 
picture  taken — the  members  will  like  it  and  it  will 
be  useful  in  advertising. 

VII :  CONCLUDING  HINTS 

In  carrying  out  the  work  of  Entertainer,  the 
officer  should  be  guided  by  three  suggestions,  which 
if  carried  out  will  bring  success  to  crown  his  efforts. 

1.  Make  every  member  feel  that  the  success  of 
the  class  work  depends  on  him— -try  to  get  the  co¬ 
operation  of  all. 

2.  Have  enough  assistants.  It  is  easy  to  be¬ 
come  discouraged  if  one  tries  to  do  all  the  work. 
In  a  class  of  forty  members  the  Entertainer  should 
at  least  have  assistants  in  charge  of  dramatics,  re¬ 
freshments,  Get-together  entertainment,  class  room, 
music,  and  one  for  each  club  under  the  auspices  of 
the  class  and  for  each  athletic  sport  conducted. 

3.  Keep  a  record  of  work  done — let  it  be  com¬ 
plete — such  a  record  will  be  invaluable  for  future 
entertainers. 

The  Entertainer  will,  of  course,  do  much  work 
himself — he  may  take  charge  of  certain  depart¬ 
ments  of  the  work  himself — but  he  should  aim  to 


198  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


be  rather  a  guiding  spirit  of  the  social  activities  of 
the  class.  There  is  a  universal  need  to-day  for 
such  a  class  executive  who  will  plan  new  and  help¬ 
ful  ways  of  turning  the  social  instinct  into  the  chan¬ 
nels  where  it  may  be  developed  and  exercised  to 
the  glory  of  God. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Reisner,  “Social  Plans  for  Young  People.” 

Chesley,  “Social  Activities  for  Men  and  Boys.” 
Barclay,  “The  Adult  Worker  and  His  Work,”  Chapter 
XVII. 

Wells,  “The  Ideal  Adult  Class,”  Chapter  VIII. 


Chapter  Fourteen 


WHAT  THE  LIBRARIAN  DOES 

I :  THE  MAN  FOR  THE  OFFICE 

Unfortunately  the  office  of  Librarian 

is  too  often  also  considered  a  sinecure — an 
honorary  office  into  which  we  can  place  old  “war- 
horses”  who  have  outlived  their  usefulness  and 
whom  the  class  desires  to  honor,  or  youngsters  to 
whom  no  other  office  can  be  entrusted.  Frequently 
all  concerned  consider  the  office  as  a  sort  of  a  joke. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  office  is  one  of  almost  un¬ 
limited  opportunity.  The  purpose  of  this  chapter 
is  to  show  some  of  the  ways  in  which  the  man 
elected  to  this  office  may  use  it  for  the  general  wel¬ 
fare  of  the  class.  Almost  all  the  plans  mentioned 
have  actually  been  worked  in  the  writer’s  class  of 
men. 

The  Librarian  has  charge  of  all  literary  activi¬ 
ties  of  the  class.  If  possible  a  man  who  reads 
quite  a  bit — a  booklover — should  be  chosen  for  the 
office.  The  Librarian  should  be  familiar  with  lit¬ 
erature  in  general  and  with  Sunday  School  literature 

in  particular.  If  he  has  the  ability  to  talk  inter- 

199 


200  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


estingly  about  books  his  value  to  the  class  will  be 
increased. 


II :  THE  LIBRARY 

If  the  class  has  a  library,  this  at  once  becomes 
the  center  of  the  Librarian’s  activities.  In  most 
communities  the  Public  Library  has  made  the  Sun¬ 
day  School  or  class  library  of  fiction  unnecessary. 
In  the  event  that  the  class  conducts  a  reading  or 
social  room  a  library  adds  to  its  attractiveness  if 
it  is  kept  up  to  date.  It  will  probably  be  more  ad¬ 
visable  for  the  class  to  arrange  to  receive  regular 
deposits  of  new  books  from  the  Public  Library  for 
reading-room  purposes. 

In  some  of  the  smaller  communities  there  is  still 
found  the  need  for  a  general  library.  If  the  need 
exists,  why  should  not  the  class  fill  it?  Members 
of  the  class,  church  and  community  may  be  asked  to 
donate  books  which  they  may  have — many  libraries 
have  been  started  in  this  way.  It  should  be  under¬ 
stood  that  all  donations  are  subject  to  approval — 
no  library  should  become  the  dumping  ground  of 
literary  refuse. 

Every  class  should  have  a  working  library  of 
religious  books  and  books  of  methods  to  enable  it 
to  carry  on  its  work  better.  Such  a  library  should 
contain  books  on  adult  work,  social  work,  Bible 
study,  Mission  study  and  reference  books  for  use 


What  the  Librarian  Does  201 


in  connection  with  study  courses,  such  as  Bible  dic¬ 
tionaries,  concordances,  commentaries,  church 
histories,  social  service,  etc.  The  reference  lists 
given  at  the  end  of  each  chapter  are  suggestive  of 
material  that  should  find  a  place  in  the  class  library. 

The  class  Workers’  Library  may  be  more  useful 
if  conducted  in  conjunction  with  the  Sunday  School 
Workers’  Library.  If  there  is  no  Workers’  Library 
in  the  school  the  Librarian  should  not  let  pass  the 
opportunity  of  pushing  such  a  proposition.  Books 
should  be  selected  with  the  aid  of  the  Teacher,  Pas¬ 
tor  and  Superintendent  that  will  be  suitable  for 
workers  in  every  department  of  Church  and  Sunday 
School  work.  The  Librarian  will  need  catalogs  of 
leading  publishers  of  religious  literature,  a  number 
of  whom  are  listed  in  the  appendix.  From  these 
he  will  be  able  to  find  many  suggestions  for  the  class 
or  school  library. 

In  the  author’s  own  class,  the  Librarian  secured 
the  cooperation  of  all  the  associated  societies  and 
the  older  classes,  for  the  purpose  of  building 
a  School  Workers’  Library.  Each  organization 
pledged  one  book  a  month  toward  the  library,  same 
to  be  selected  by  the  Librarian.  At  the  end  of  a 
year  the  school  possessed  a  library  of  over  sixty 
well-chosen  and  helpful  books  on  all  phases  of  Sun¬ 
day  School,  Organized  Class,  and  Young  People’s 
Work. 


202  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


The  finest  library  in  the  world  is  of  little  value 
if  the  books  remain  unread.  The  Librarian  must 
then  make  every  effort  to  see  that  the  books  are 
actually  used.  Workers’  books  can  usually  be  ef¬ 
fectively  distributed  at  the  School  Workers’  Con¬ 
ference.  Books  in  connection  with  special  courses 
of  study  may  be  distributed  at  the  class  sessions. 

A  careful  record  should  be  kept  of  all  books  taken 
out  of  the  library.  People  have  a  tendency  to  for¬ 
get  that  they  have  the  book,  unless  they  are  occa¬ 
sionally  reminded  of  it.  No  elaborate  records  are 
needed.  A  number  of  very  good  records  are  avail¬ 
able  from  the  publishing  houses;  or  the  Librarian 
may  simply  use  a  note  book  alloting  one  page  to  a 
book,  and  recording  under  that  book,  the  date  and 
name  of  person  taking  it,  checking  it  off  when 
returned. 


Ill :  AT  THE  SUNDAY  SESSIONS 

The  Librarian  is  the  custodian  of  the  class  Bibles 
and  song  books.  He  will  see  that  they  are  dis¬ 
tributed  before  the  session  so  that  every  one  present 
may  be  provided,  and  more  important  still,  he  will 
see  that  they  are  properly  collected  after  the  class 
session,  and  stored  in  a  cabinet  provided  for  the 
purpose.  In  a  large  class  he  will  very  likely  have 
one  or  more  assistants  to  do  this  part  of  the  work. 


What  the  Librarian  Does  203 

Supplementary  literature  for  use  with  the  Sun¬ 
day  lessons  offers  the  Librarian  further  opportunity 
for  service.  Many  teachers  furnish  typewritten 
outlines  of  the  lesson  to  the  class.  These  will  be 
distributed  by  the  Librarian.  In  the  case  of  social 
service  and  mission  courses,  a  large  amount  of  leaf¬ 
let  material  on  the  subject  is  available — much  is 
free,  while  some  carries  a  slight  charge.  This  ma¬ 
terial  may  be  obtained  from  the  publishing  boards 
and  from  the  mission  boards.  The  Librarian 
should  write  the  several  boards  for  lists  of  all  mate¬ 
rial  that  may  be  available.  He  will  find  that  inter¬ 
est  in  class  work  is  stimulated  by  the  judicious 
distribution  of  these  tracts.  Often  the  printed  tract 
makes  an  impression,  even  though  the  message  of 
the  teacher  may  have  failed. 

The  Librarian  should  also  encourage  the  use  of 
current  text  books  in  connection  with  study  courses. 
He  should  determine  what  members  want  the  books 
and  secure  them  for  those  members.  He  will  of 
course  work  very  closely  with  the  teacher  in  such 
matters — and  may  be  of  considerable  assistance  in 
stimulating  wider  class  study. 


IV :  THE  CLASS  BULLETIN 

If  the  class  publishes  a  class  paper,  or  if  the 
class  uses  certain  space  in  the  church  bulletin  each 


204  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


week,  the  Librarian  should  be  careful  to  preserve 
a  complete  file.  A  class  bulletin  serves  as  a  run¬ 
ning  history  of  the  class,  and  grows  more  valuable 
with  the  passing  years — not  only  from  a  sentimental 
point  of  view,  but  as  a  guide  for  future  workers. 
The  files  of  the  class  organ  should  be  bound  into 
volumes  containing  the  copies  for  one  year,  and 
placed  in  the  class  library. 

The  foresighted  Librarian  will  preserve  more 
than  one  copy  of  each  bulletin.  At  the  end  of  the 
year  he  will  find  that  there  is  a  demand  for  com¬ 
plete  sets  on  the  part  of  the  officers  and  other  inter¬ 
ested  workers. 

The  time  to  assure  having  a  complete  file  of  the 
class  paper  is  at  the  time  publication  is  started.  A 
certain  class  neglected  to  preserve  its  files  and  sev¬ 
eral  years  later  strenuous  efforts  on  the  part  of  the 
Librarian  were  necessary  to  try  to  build  a  com¬ 
plete  file.  A  number  of  private  files  were  brought 
to  light,  but  it  was  impossible  to  secure  all  the  miss¬ 
ing  issues. 

If  found  desirable,  the  Librarian  may  also  have 
charge  of  the  bulletin  mailing  list.  He  will  then 
mail  copies  each  week  to  absentees,  to  recent  visit¬ 
ors  whose  addresses  are  known,  to  members  out  of 
the  city  on  business  or  on  vacations,  and  to  those 
who  have  permanently  removed  to  another  com¬ 
munity,  but  who  still  are  interested  in  the  class 


What  the  Librarian  Does  205 

work.  Some  classes  mail  a  bulletin  to  all  visitors 
at  their  home  addresses  for  two  or  three  weeks  after 
their  attendance.  All  this  helps  to  advertise  the 
class  and  to  build  good  will. 

v:  MISCELLANEOUS  PLANS 


Book  Talks 

A  monthly  book  talk  of  five  or  six  minutes  dura¬ 
tion  can  be  made  very  enjoyable.  Reviews  of  late 
books,  of  interest  to  class  members,  could  be  given 
during  the  period  allotted  for  the  talk.  If  the  books 
are  of  a  religious  or  inspirational  nature,  this  talk 
might  well  be  given  during  a  Sunday  session;  if 
only  of  general  literary  interest,  the  monthly  Get- 
together  meeting  will  probably  be  the  better  place 
to  have  it. 

The  book  talk  may  often  be  a  quiz  on  some  book 
which  the  class  is  studying,  or  may  be  a  summary 
of  some  literary  news  of  general  interest — the  death 
of  noted  writers,  composers,  or  something  similar. 

Current  Topic  Talks 

One  class  for  a  number  of  months  had  a  series 
of  five-minute  current  topic  talks  given  by  various 
members.  Each  speaker  selected  some  news  event 
of  the  week,  from  which  he  drew  a  moral  or  ethical 
lesson,  trying  as  far  as  possible  to  tie  up  the  talk 


206  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


with  the  class  lessons.  Such  talks  may  logically  be 
conducted  under  the  direction  of  the  Librarian. 

Literary  Counselor 

The  Librarian  will  be  virtually  a  literary  guide 
to  the  class  membership.  He  may  suggest  suitable 
reading  courses  on  subjects  which  the  class  is  study¬ 
ing  or  along  lines  of  the  individual  interests  of  the 
members.  A  splendid  series  of  reading  course  out¬ 
lines  on  several  subjects  may  be  secured  free  from 
the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education.  He  will  encourage 
the  building  of  a  home  library.  A  splendid  way  to 
do  this  is  by  urging  the  members  to  purchase  the 
text  books  being  used  by  the  class.  After  several 
years'  attendance  at  class  a  member  will  have  a 
credible  nucleus  for  a  worthwhile  library.  The 
Librarian  may  also  recommend  late  books  and 
articles  in  current  magazines. 

The  Bible  and  Bible  Reading 

During  the  late  war  almost  every  class  furnished 
the  boys  in  service  with  Testaments  and  Bibles. 
There  is  still  room  for  effort  in  this  direction.  In¬ 
vestigation  will  reveal  many  homes  in  which  there 
is  no  Bible.  The  Librarian  can  be  of  invaluable 
service  in  helping  members  select  the  Bible  best 
suited  for  use.  This  should  by  all  means  be  the 
American  Standard  Revision.  He  may  also  rec- 


What  the  Librarian  Does  207 

ommend  suitable  Bible  Dictionaries,  Commentaries 
and  Concordances  which  will  enable  the  student  to 
use  his  Bible  properly. 

The  Librarian  can  do  no  better  than  to  cooperate 
with  the  Teacher  in  stimulating  the  daily  reading 
of  the  Bible.  He  can  furnish  pledge  and  record 
cards,  for  daily  Bible  readers.  He  should  also 
conduct  frequent  quizzes  on  the  daily  Bible  reading 
course  outlined  by  the  Teacher. 

Cooperating  With  Entertainer 

The  wide-awake  Librarian  has  abundant  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  assist  the  Entertainer  in  planning  literary 
entertainments.  He  may  help  arrange  for  debates, 
readings  and  sketches.  If  alive  to  the  possibilities 
of  his  position  he  will  have  a  record  of  the  literary 
leanings  of  all  members,  thus  making  it  easy  to 
select  men  for  this  special  work. 

Advertising  His  Department 

The  Librarian  will  use  the  class  bulletin  to  good 
advantage.  One  officer  published  all  his  plans 
under  the  heading,  “Librarials,”  thus  keeping  up 
interest  in  his  department.  In  this  section  he  also 
published  occasional  quotations  of  famous  authors 
about  books. 

Conditions  in  local  classes  may  make  it  impos¬ 
sible  to  use  all  the  plans  here  suggested.  Some 


208  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


classes  may  be  able  to  use  the  Librarian  in  some 
ways  not  included  in  this  chapter.  No  class  should 
ever  permit  any  office  to  exist  without  reason  for  its 
being.  It  is  easily  seen  that  the  office  of  Librarian 
is  important  in  the  scheme  of  class  organization — 
the  work  is  there  to  be  done.  It  is  up  to  the  class 
to  elect  a  man  to  the  office  who  will  do  it. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Morse,  “The  Workers’  Library,”  Sunday  School 
Worker,  October,  1920. 


Chapter  Fifteen 


ADVERTISING  THE  CLASS 

i:  WHAT  IS  ADVERTISING? 

HE  process  of  selling  by  means  of  publicity, 


X  we  call  advertising.  Derived  from  the 
Latin,  adverto,  it  literally  means  “to  turn  toward.” 
Hence  in  its  broadest  sense  advertising  includes 
any  effort  made  to  attract  attention  toward  that  in 
which  the  advertiser  is  interested.  Advertising  may 
be  and  often  is  simply  the  spoken  word.  The  class 
member  who  personally  visits  prospects  and  inter¬ 
ests  them  in  the  class  is  advertising — the  medium 
is  of  limited  circulation,  but  it  is  advertising,  just 
the  same.  The  message  set  in  type  and  placed  in 
a  newspaper,  although  multiplied  many  times  in  ef¬ 
fect,  yet  lacks  the  living  personality  of  face-to-face 
communication.  Consequently  both  personal  sell¬ 
ing  and  the  printed  word  are  valuable  in  success¬ 
fully  advertising  any  commodity  or  service. 

Classes  of  Advertising 

All  advertising  divides  itself  naturally  into  two 
classes — publicity  advertising  and  informative  ad- 


209 


210  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

vertising.  Publicity  itself  is  of  two  forms:  first 
the  advertising  which  comes  to  an  institution 
through  disseminating  news  regarding  it  through 
the  regular  news  channels,  such  as  newspapers  and 
the  denominational  press — in  other  words,  “press 
agent”  matter ;  second,  regular  display  advertising  in 
which  simply  the  name  of  the  article  being  adver¬ 
tised  and  possibly  also  a  slogan  or  catch  phrase,  is 
made  prominent  with  no  effort  to  show  why  that 
particular  article  should  be  selected  by  the  reader. 
In  informative  advertising,  greater  effort  is  made  to 
convince  the  reader  by  means  of  logical  reasons 
that  the  advertised  article  is  superior  to  others  of 
the  same  class.  There  is  place  for  each  of  these 
classes  of  advertising  in  the  work  of  the  men’s  class. 

II :  SHOULD  THE  MEN’S  CLASS  ADVERTISE? 

Yes,  emphatically  yes,  the  class  should  advertise. 
The  Men’s  Bible  Class  has  the  best  advertising 
proposition  in  the  world  to-day — Christianity.  It 
is  the  one  thing  that  all  men  need;  it  is  the  one 
thing  that  has  within  itself  an  appeal  suited  to  every 
heart  and  mind. 

We  have  the  example  of  Christ  himself  to  guide 
us.  True,  He  used  no  newspapers  or  poster 
boards.  He  did,  however,  send  His  disciples  out  to 
tell  the  good  news  to  all  creation.  He,  too,  at- 


Advertising  the  Class  211 

tracted  attention  to  Himself  by  His  startling  teach¬ 
ings  and  the  mighty  miracles  which  He  performed. 
Jesus  advertised.  The  Bible  to-day  is  the  most  ef¬ 
fective  piece  of  advertising  literature  the  world  has 
ever  known — it  has  produced  results  that  bring 
gasps  of  astonishment  from  the  unbelievers. 

The  Men’s  Bible  Class  must  scatter  information 
about  itself  if  it  is  to  grow.  The  class  aims  and 
principles  for  which  it  stands  must  be  “sold”  to  the 
men  it  desires  to  interest.  It  must  give  them  facts 
about  the  class  activities;  it  must  show  why  the  men 
of  the  community  should  be  a  part  of  the  organiza¬ 
tion.  In  our  complicated  social  order  it  is  impos¬ 
sible  for  individuals  to  carry  class  messages  with 
the  frequency  required  to  make  a  permanent  im¬ 
pression.  Some  form  of  the  printed  word  must  be 
relied  upon  to  keep  the  class  fresh  in  the  minds  of 
prospective  members. 

Through  advertising  the  class  name  and  motto 
becomes  familiar  to  the  entire  neighborhood  which 
it  serves.  Its  influence  is  felt  in  all  walks  of  the 
community  life — even  the  least  interested  must  rec¬ 
ognize  that  the  class  stands  for  the  higher,  more 
permanent  things  of  life. 

Advertising,  properly  used,  always  brings  big  re¬ 
sults.  It  is  the  big  force  in  business  to-day.  The 
church  is  just  beginning  to  realize  the  power  in  ad¬ 
vertising.  It  played  no  small  part  in  bringing  sue- 


212  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


cess  in  the  recent  financial  campaigns  conducted  by 
the  great  religious  bodies.  It  is  time  that  the  local 
churches  and  classes  should  also  recognize  more 
fully  the  possibilities  of  advertising  when  properly 
adapted  to  their  organizations. 


Hi:  BASIC  PRINCIPLES  OF  ADVERTISING 

The  first  essential  to  successful  advertising  is  a 
careful  study  of  the  product  to  be  advertised. 
Those  in  charge  of  the  class  publicity  must  first 
study  the  class,  its  membership,  and  its  aims.  They 
must  ascertain  the  conditions  under  which  the  class 
is  working,  in  order  to  determine  the  proper  appli¬ 
cation  of  advertising  methods.  Next  there  must 
be  an  investigation  of  the  possible  prospects — who 
are  they,  where  are  they,  what  are  their  occupations 
and  their  attitudes  toward  the  church.  After  all 
these  conditions  are  known,  comes  a  determination 
of  the  ways  and  means  of  reaching  the  prospects 
by  advertising. 

Advertising  must  attract  favorable  attention  and 
awaken  interest.  A  class  might  hire  a  circus  clown 
to  perform  on  a  busy  corner  and  so  attract  atten¬ 
tion  for  the  presentation  of  a  message,  but  it  is 
questionable  whether  such  attention  would  create 
much  respect  for  the  class.  The  appeal  must  be  in 
keeping  with  the  dignity  of  the  class.  It  must  be 


Advertising  the  Class  213 

a  legitimate  appeal  awakening  a  genuine  interest  in 
the  class  work,  or  it  fails  in  its  purpose. 

Class  advertising  must  create  a  desire  for  the 
things  the  class  has  to  offer.  To  that  end  all  ad¬ 
vertising  should  be  as  interesting  as  it  is  possible 
to  make  it — the  writer  must  make  the  reader  actu¬ 
ally  feel  the  power  of  the  class.  The  class  publicity 
man  must  consequently  be  one  of  the  most  interested 
men  in  the  class. 

If  the  class  advertising  does  not  carry  conviction 
no  lasting  impressions  can  be  made.  All  advertis¬ 
ing  should  fairly  bristle  with  live  facts  about  the 
organization — things  it  has  done,  rather  than  things 
it  plans  to  do. 

The  advertising  of  a  Bible  class  should  above 
everything  inspire  confidence.  No  exaggerations 
nor  misstatements  should  be  permitted  under  any 
conditions.  Insincere,  high-sounding  phrases  never 
fool  any  one. 

The  final  purpose  of  advertising  is  to  influence  to 
action.  The  prospect  should  be  invited  to  attend 
class,  send  in  a  reservation  for  a  plate  at  a  banquet, 
be  challenged  to  enter  into  a  class  discussion  or  in 
some  other  way  induced  to  do  something.  No  mat¬ 
ter  how  little  a  prospect  does  in  reply  to  advertising, 
it  will  be  easier  to  make  him  do  more  the  next  time. 

It  is  preferable  that  all  advertising  be  brief — 
most  men  are  busy  and  are  more  willing  to  read 


214  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


something  that  is  short  and  snappy,  than  a  long 
treatise.  “Build  each  advertisement  about  one  def¬ 
inite  point,”  is  a  good  rule  to  follow. 

Experiments  have  shown  that  experiences  are 
quickly  forgotten.  Therefore  in  order  to  secure 
full  value  from  advertising  there  must  be  frequent 
repetition.  Not  only  that,  but  one  forgets  as  much 
in  the  first  ten  units  of  time  following  an  experi¬ 
ence,  as  he  will  during  the  next  twenty-five.  The 
class  must  then  use  advertising  more  frequently  at 
the  beginning  of  a  special  campaign  than  later  on. 

The  class  must  use  all  the  advertising  media  that 
will  serve  its  purpose.  This  may  include  news¬ 
papers,  the  denominational  press,  class  papers,  post¬ 
ers,  movie  slides,  letters,  printed  cards,  circulars, 
booklets,  and  street  car  cards.  Not  only  should  the 
class  accept  the  courtesy  of  the  news  columns  of  the 
newspapers,  as  outlined  later,  but  it  should  also  use 
paid  advertising  space  as  liberally  as  possible. 


IV  :  THE  REPORTER 

Class  publicity  is  in  charge  of  the  Reporter.  A 
prime  requisite  for  election  to  this  office  should  be 
the  ability  to  write  correctly,  convincingly  and  en¬ 
tertainingly.  Often  the  Reporter  must  write  all 
publicity  matter,  and  it  is  usually  necessary  for  him 
to  rewrite  all  contributed  material  to  suit  his  needs. 


Advertising  the  Class  215 


?Ibe  Character  JBuilber 

t  Issued  every  Thursday  by  tke  CHARACTER  BUILDER  BIBLE  CLASS. 
Mtdiion  Height*  M.  E.  Church  Claybrook  and  Monroe. 


Vou  V.  Memphis,  Tenn..  December  2.  1920  No  8 


Character  Builders  Respond  to  Call 

For  Funds — $5,000  Is  Still  Needed 

Many  Say  “Count  On  Me”  at  Sunday  Service  and  Remit  for  Balance  of 
Pledge  In  Order  to  Save  Interest  of  $62.50  Per  Month. 

Character  Builders,  as  usual,  are  responding-  most  generously  to  the  call  for 
payment  in  full  or  part  of  the  building  fund  pledges. 

i  But  more  help  is  needed.  Only  about  $2,500  of  the  $7,500  needed  has  been 
paid  in.  We  must  have  $5,000  more  by  next  Monday  in  order  to  save  tbe  class 
$62.50  per  month  interest  charge. 

MANY  COME  TO  RESCUE 

When  Dr  Bigger  on  last  Sunday  told  of  the  need  of  the  funds  and  asked 
Character  Builders  present  to  say  “Count  on  me”  for  their  pledge  in  full  or  part, 
there  was  an  immediate  response.  Taylor  Malone,  Norman  Monaghan,  Clarence 
Banning.  E.  C.  Bondurant,  S.  S.  Sherrod,  Kenneth  McRae,  E.  R  Avery,  Dr. 
Bigger  and  many  others  turned  in  their  panes  to  Sam  Jackson  and  checks  were 
written  out  this  week  for  the  various  amounts  which  total  over  $2,500. 

IF  YOU  .-CAN’T  PAY  ALL  PAY  PART 
Remember  that  it  doesn’t  take  the  payment  of  your  full  pledge  Jo  put  this 
thing  over  but  that  payment  of  just  one  installment,  or  two,  will  help  and  help  a 
lot.  If  your  subscription  is  only  $10  you  have  done  your  part  just  as  well  as  the 
fellow  who  has  subscribed  a  $1,000,  so  don’t  wait  but  send  in  your  check  today  for 
whatever  part  of  your  pledge  you  can  pay,  no  matter  how  small  or  bow  large. 

A  LETTER  FROM  A  C.  B 

“I  am  one  of  the  fellows  who  joined  the  Character  Builder  class  after  the 
building  was  practically  completed,”  writes  Clyde  Bland,  Room  714,  Grand  Cen¬ 
tral  Station.  “I  don’t  feel  like  I  could  ^ay  it  was  OURS  unless  I  contribut»d 
something  toward  paying  the  bill. 

“Enclosed  find  my  check  for  $25,  with  best  wishes  for  the  class.” 

That’s  the  spirit.  Get  in  on  this  new  building,  all  you  new  C.  B ’s.  ’  No 
matter  how  small  or  how  large,  it  will  be  appreciated  and  will  make  you  feel  that 
part  of  that  building  belongs  to  you. 

ACT  NOW. 

Don’t  wait,  Character  Builder,  but  mail  your  check  today.  It’s  a  business 
proposition. 

Pay  Up  Now . Make  a  Character  Builder  Xmas  Gift 


FIGURE  II — FRONT  PAGE  OF  A  CLASS  BULLETIN 


216  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


He  should  have  what  the  newspaper  folks  call  “a 
nose  for  news” — that  is,  he  must  be  able  to  recog¬ 
nize  which  particular  class  happenings  are  of  interest 
only  to  class  members,  which  carry  community  in¬ 
terest,  which  have  possibilities  of  wider  denomina¬ 
tional  interest,  and  which  are  valueless.  The  present 
writer  has  seen  all  varieties  of  reporters — those  who 
failed  to  see  news  in  such  items  as  a  class  President 
or  Teacher  being  placed  upon  a  Convention  Pro¬ 
gram,  those  who  saw  no  value  in  using  newspapers 
to  chronicle  the  events  of  the  class,  and  those  who 
could  “dig  up”  more  news  from  a  small  class  than 
the  class  paper  could  accommodate.  The  latter  type 
of  Reporter  is  a  rare  specimen.  If  the  man  elected 
to  the  office  is  really  willing,  he  may  by  a  little 
thinking  and  some  reading  make  a  very  acceptable 
publicity  man.  It  is  necessary,  however,  that  the 
Reporter  be  absolutely  wide-awake  at  all  times, 
ready  to  utilize  every  opportunity  to  bring  the  class 
and  its  work  into  public  attention. 

v:  THE  CLASS  PAPER 


Its  Place 

As  a  means  of  stimulating  class  spirit  and  inter¬ 
est,  it  is  hard  to  “beat”  the  class  paper.  Here  will 
be  published  not  only  the  important  announcements, 
but  also  those  little  interesting  happenings  among 


Advertising  the  Class 


— —— — -  ■■  ■■■■ 

AGOGA  BULLETIN 


VoUVIll.  ST.  LOUIS,  HO.,  MAT  7, 1*22  Kg.  19 

Young  Men's  Agoga  Bible  Glass 

—of  the - 


THIRD  BAPTIST  CHURCH 


CLASS  OFFICERS 

J.  C.  VARNEY _ _ _ TmcM 

3820  W'aahingtoo  Av.  Lindell  60o 

L.  M  KINCAID _ _ ...... _ _ _  Prd^l 

4152  West  Pina  Culfa*  610  UndeU  U07-W 

O.  w.  MATT  ISON _ . _ Vic*- Prat  idaol 

396 3 A  McPhoraou  Av©.  Lindel!  4906-J. 

L  E.  CHRISCO - .  Secretary 

5450  Clemons  Tore*!  1037-W. 

C*  A.  CROMW  ELL. _ . _ _ _ _ -  Treaaurw 

4070  Lafayette  Main  486  Grand  4129-M. 

B.  L.  TEACHENOR  . . . ;... . . Vlalo  r 

5966  Minerva  Main  3950,  Station  22  Cab.  2981-H 

BEN  HERGET  . Entertainer 

919  Skioker  Rd.  Cabanno  5904. 

R.  L.  SANDERS . . . -  Librarian 

♦0L2A  Lafayette  Main  4700  Grand  5169-J, 

C.  E-  SPARKS . . . . RefKWter 

4398  Oliva  St.  Main  4350  Liodell  1J84-J 


CLASS  MOTTO 

Get  Another  Man 


,  ACOCA  it  a  Greek  word  tonifying  bringing, 

leading,  training,  conduct.  It  it  found  in  the  Greek 
in  2  Ti«n.  3:10.  It  lormt  the  last  part  of  the  word 
Synagogue  Agoga  stands  for  the  highest  type  of 
Christian  Manhood,  the  life  trained,  disciplined 
^tempered,  developed 

-  - - -  — 


FIGURE  12 — FRONT  COVER  OF  AN  EIGHT-PAGE 
CLASS  PAPER. 


218  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


the  members.  As  those  who  belong  to  the  class  see 
in  cold  type  just  what  the  class  is  accomplishing, 
they  realize  more  than  would  otherwise  be  possible, 
the  influence  of  their  organization — a  feeling  of 
respect  for  the  class  is  created  where  perhaps  apathy 
had  formerly  existed.  The  class  periodical  repre¬ 
sents  a  continuous  history  of  the  class,  its  work,  its 
members  and  its  achievements.  Properly  handled, 
it  can  be  made  a  real  force  in  the  church  and  the 
community. 

Management 

The  Reporter  will  probably  have  charge  of  the 
class  paper  himself,  although  in  large  classes  he 
will  have  one  or  more  assistants  to  handle  certain 
phases  of  the  work,  such  as  sporting  news,  news  of 
entertainments  and  news  from  related  organizations. 
The  Reporter  ought  not  to  be  expected  to  secure  all 
items  for  the  class  paper  himself.  All  members 
should  be  impressed  with  the  importance  of  giving 
him  such  news  items  as  come  to  their  attention;  he 
should  solicit  occasional  articles  for  publication  as 
indicated  later  in  the  chapter;  then  he  will  have  only 
the  effort  of  properly  arranging  this  matter  for  the 
printer. 

Types  of  Papers 

Several  types  of  class  papers  are  being  used  with 
good  results.  Some  strong  classes  issue  splendidly 


Advertising  the  Class  219 

gotten-up  eight-page  class  papers  each  Sunday ; 
others  issue  only  four-page  papers.  A'  number  of 
smaller  classes  find  a  monthly  issue  well  suited  to 
their  needs.  Often  a  class  that  cannot  afford  a 
printed  paper,  publishes  a  bulletin,  reproduced  from 
a  Mimeograph  or  other  duplicating  machine.  In 
some  cases  the  paper  has  the  outside  pages  of  a 
standard  design,  that  needs  no  change  from  week 
to  week.  These  they  have  printed  for  an  entire 
year.  Then  by  means  of  the  duplicating  machine, 
they  put  the  fresh  matter  on  the  inside  pages  from 
week  to  week.  One  small  class  bought  a  hand 
duplicator  of  the  wax  type,  and  duplicated  a  number 
of  hand  written  bulletins  each  week.  The  class  will, 
of  course,  adopt  the  method  best  suited  to  its  needs. 

A  number  of  Sunday  Schools  publish  school 
papers.  In  that  case  the  Reporter  should  secure 
sufficient  space  in  the  publication  for  the  live  class 
news.  Or  if  the  church  has  a  bulletin,  the  class 
may  be  assigned  a  portion  of  it  for  their  use. 

Editing  the  Paper 

The  editorial  contents  of  the  class  paper  deter¬ 
mine  its  standing.  If  the  paper  is  to  be  merely  a 
reprint  of  poems  or  other  clipped  matter,  it  will  be 
accepted  with  a  spirit  of  apathetic  tolerance;  if  it  is 
filled  with  utterly  ridiculous  jokes  and  other  silly 
matter  it  will  be  looked  upon  with  derision.  Unfor- 


220  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

tunately,  a  class  will  sometimes  have  a  Reporter  who 
takes  his  office  so  lightly  as  to  waste  class  funds  in 
just  that  manner — the  sooner  the  class  asks  for  his 
resignation  the  better  for  the  class.  The  paper  rep¬ 
resents  the  organization — its  editorial  policy  should 
be  such  as  accurately  reflects  the  purpose  of  the 
class. 

The  Reporter  should  aim  to  make  the  class  paper 
informative.  News  items  about  the  class  and  its 
members,  both  serious  and  humorous,  will  be  given 
a  large  place  in  its  columns.  If  a  member  does 
something  at  a  class  meeting  that  is  really  funny, 
put  it  in  the  paper  so  that  all  can  laugh — but  be 
careful  that  no  feelings  are  hurt.  The  Reporter 
will  find  tact  valuable  at  all  times.  Such  facts  as 
marriages,  deaths  in  the  family,  sickness  of  a  mem¬ 
ber  or  his  family,  removals  of  residence,  business 
trips,  special  business  accomplishments  and  promo¬ 
tions,  members  opening  new  business,  election  of 
members  to  church  and  school  offices,  should  all  be 
mentioned  in  the  paper — and  before  the  news  be¬ 
comes  stale. 

The  regular  course  of  study  will  be  featured. 
There  should  be  in  every  issue  a  brief  outline  of 
the  lesson  for  the  following  Sunday,  including  also 
the  daily  Bible  readings  for  the  week.  The  Teacher 
will  find  the  paper  a  great  help  in  developing  thought 
on  the  lesson  by  suggestive  questions  and  in  stimu- 


Advertising  the  Class 


, 

AGOGA  BULLETIN  g 

Second  Quarter,  1922 

Prophets  and  Kings  in  Jndah 

SOUTHERN  KINGDOM 

Today's  Lesson: 

Condition  of  Permanent  Peace 

Isa.  2:2-4;  11:1-9. 

Lesson  For  May  14th,  1922 

Wise  Methods  of  Reform. 

2  Chron.  30:1-27. 


A  BIBLE  MESSAGE  DAILY. 

M — 2  Chron.  29:1-11.  A  Godly  King’s  Edict. 
T — 2  Chron.  29:12-19.  The  Temple  Cleansed. 
W — 2  Chron.  29:20-30.  Sacrifices  Presented. 

T — 2  Chron.  29:31-36.  Sacrifices  Offered. 

F — 2  Chron.  30:1-12.  Call  to  Worship. 

S — 2  Chron.  30:13-27.  The  Solemn  Assembly 
S — Ps.  96:1-10  Joyous  Worship. 

THOUGHTS  ON  NEXT  SUNDAY’S  LESSON. 

Getting  back  to  the  old-time  religion — your 
mother’s  kind. 

Honor  Mother’s  Day  by  attending  the  Agoga 
Class,  and  discuss  King  Hezekiah,  who  led  Israel 
back  to  God. 


The  Agoga  ticker 

Attendance  laat  Sunday - 90 

•*  previous  Sunday  - 98 

••  &  year  ago  Iasi  Sunday  - - —  82 

Average  attendance  to  date -  87 

••  ••  laatyear  _ . _ 81 

Visitor* - - 17 

Daily  Readers  _ 14 

Offering  last  Sunday - - - , - - -  $11.14 


AGOGA  DEGREES 

The  Firat  Degree— When  you  join  the  class. 

Nurn.  10:29-32. 

The  Second  Degree— When  you  "Get  Another  Man." 

John  1:40-48. 

The  Third  Degree- When  you  get  Agoga  on  your 
heart.  John  16:1-14 

The  Fourth  Degree  — When  you  join  the  Third  Baptist 
Church  Acta  2.38-42 

B.  Y.  P.  U. 

Tonight  Group  “O”  has  charge  o £  the  Young 
People’s  meeting,  Clifford  Brown  leading.  Judge 
Hill  will  speak. 

This  is  the  afternoon  that  we  go  to  the  Baptist 
Sanitarium  to  sing  in  the  wards  and  lead  the 
Vesper  Services. 


FIGURE  13 — AN  INSIDE  PAGE  FROM  AN 
EIGHT-PAGE  CLASS  PAPER 


222  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


iating  daily  Bible  reading.  There  should  also  be 
a  calendar  of  lesson  courses.  If  space  is  limited 
the  complete  course  titles  may  be  published  only  at 
the  beginning  of  the  course,  and  the  year’s  outline 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year.  One  large  class  regu¬ 
larly  devotes  an  entire  page  of  the  bulletin  to  the 
lesson,  giving  the  complete  outline  of  the  current 
study  course  by  weeks,  outline  for  the  following 
Sunday  lesson,  Bible  readings  for  the  week,  and 
frequent  succinct  comments  on  the  lesson.  The 
Reporter  will  frequently  find  points  of  interest  in 
the  lessons  that  he  will  want  to  publish  the  following 
week.  One  class  regularly  published  a  brief  synop¬ 
sis  of  the  lesson  in  the  following  week’s  issue  of  the 
class  paper.  Especially  in  the  case  of  special  or  vis¬ 
iting  speakers  before  the  class,  there  should  be  pub¬ 
lished  a  good  write-up  of  the  talk. 

The  class  bulletin  is  the  ideal  place  for  statistical 
information.  Of  first  interest  is  the  record  of  at¬ 
tendance  and  collection  from  week  to  week.  In 
the  Bulletin  of  the  Agoga  Class  of  Third  Baptist 
Church,  St.  Louis,  will  be  found  the  “Agoga 
Ticker,”  under  which  head  is  tabulated  the  attend¬ 
ance  for  the  two  preceding  Sundays,  and  the  corre¬ 
sponding  Sunday  of  the  previous  year;  the  average 
attendance  to  date  and  the  last  year’s  average  is 
given;  there  is  a  record  of  the  offering  for  the  last 
two  weeks,  the  number  of  signed  contributors, 


Advertising  the  Class  223 

number  of  members  on  time,  number  of  visitors 
and  the  number  of  daily  Bible  readers.  Another 
class  includes  the  same  information  under  the  head 
of  the  “Pendulum.”  Figures  presented  in  this 
way  can  be  studied  by  the  members,  who  take  pride 
in  keeping  the  average  up  to  standard.  Quarterly, 
semi-annual  and  annual  cumulations  of  statistics 
will  be  found  interesting  for  purpose  of  comparison. 

It  is  stimulating  to  occasionally  publish  the  names 
of  those  who  are  regular  in  attendance.  One  class 
did  this  monthly,  listing  those  names  under  an 
Honor  Roll.  Names  and  interesting  facts  regard¬ 
ing  any  visitors  present  should  also  be  included. 

As  the  primary  purpose  of  the  class  is  to  win  men 
for  Christ,  there  should  be  space  for  short  evan¬ 
gelistic  items,  and  stories  of  members  who  accept 
Christ  should  be  specially  featured.  In  some  classes 
the  statistics  regarding  church  members  and  those 
who  make  a  profession  of  faith  are  grouped  under 
the  “Lighthouse  Record.” 

The  class  paper  should  carry  brief  reports  of  offi¬ 
cers’  meetings  and  class  business  meetings.  The 
officers  will  want  to  put  their  plans  before  the  class 
and  the  bulletin  is  the  most  satisfactory  way  of 
doing  it.  It  is  only  in  rare  cases  that  a  full  repre¬ 
sentation  of  the  class  will  be  able  to  attend  the  reg¬ 
ular  business  meetings — hence  the  importance  of  in¬ 
forming  the  absentees  of  what  transpired — the  class 


224  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

bulletin  in  that  way  ties  up  the  entire  class  and  keeps 
the  members  informed  about  the  various  activities. 
The  Reporter  will  remember,  though,  that  the  paper 
is  not  a  secretary’s  minute  book.  His  stories  should 
contain  only  the  essential  facts  of  general  interest 
to  the  class  members  or  others  among  whom  the 
paper  circulates. 

In  the  class  paper,  too,  will  be  published  abstracts 
of  such  regular  officers’  reports  as  contain  matter 
of  more  than  a  routine  nature.  The  Treasurer’s 
report  should  be  published  monthly — the  reports  of 
other  officers  may  be  used  at  less  frequent  intervals. 

Vacation  time  may  be  a  period  of  a  news  famine 
or  there  may  be  an  abundance  of  news,  depending 
upon  the  cooperation  the  Reporter  is  able  to  secure. 
He  should  start  early  in  the  year  to  “hammer  home” 
the  importance  of  keeping  the  Reporter  informed 
about  vacation  news.  Those  going  on  vacations 
should  be  urged  to  inform  the  Reporter  when  and 
where  they  are  going,  and  also  to  write  a  letter  or 
two  while  they  are  gone. 

Special  articles  are  good  for  occasional  publica¬ 
tion.  At  Thanksgiving  time,  the  officers  may  be 
induced  to  wrrite  just  twenty  words  on  what  they 
as  class  officers  have  to  be  thankful  for.  Members 
may  be  asked  to  write  in  fifty  or  seventy-five  words 
“What  the  class  means  to  me,”  and  “What  the  class 
has  done  for  me,”  the  officers,  the  Pastor  or  the 


Advertising  the  Class  225 

Sunday  School  Superintendent  may  be  requested  to 
write  special  boosting  articles  from  time  to  time. 

A'  number  of  classes  regularly  publish  their  mem¬ 
bership  roll  on  one  page  of  the  class  paper.  It  is 
questionable  whether  that  is  just  the  best  way  to 
use  costly  space.  Advertisements  are  also  pub¬ 
lished  by  many  classes,  to  cover  the  cost  of  printing. 
While  it  is  preferable  to  have  a  paper  without  ad¬ 
vertising  if  possible,  most  class  funds  are  insuffi¬ 
cient  to  do  this.  In  most  cases  advertisements  can 
be  made  to  pay  for  the  bulletin.  The  work  of  se¬ 
curing  the  ads  is  treated  in  more  detail  under  the 
head  of  the  Treasurer’s  work. 

Special  Editions 

It  will  occasionally  be  found  desirable  to  issue  spe¬ 
cial  numbers  of  the  class  publication.  For  a  num¬ 
ber  of  years  a  large  men’s  class  published  a  rather 
pretentious  annual  edition  of  its  class  bulletin  each 
June  in  celebration  of  Young  Men’s  Day.  This 
edition  was  finely  printed  on  coated  stock,  illustrated 
with  pictures  of  the  class,  its  officers,  clubs  and 
teams,  and  contained  interesting  articles  about  the 
class  work  in  all  its  varied  aspects.  It  was  really 
a  complete  text  book  on  the  conduct  of  a  young 
men’s  class.  Copies  were  kept  on  hand  for  distri¬ 
bution  to  new  members  during  the  year,  and  copies 
were  always  in  demand  among  other  classes.  A 


226  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


smaller  class  issued  for  a  number  of  years  special 
editions  for  its  annual  anniversary  program;  these 
contained  data  as  to  class  organization,  as  well  as 


Be  a  Character  Builder 


WE  think  that  conspicuous  events,  striking  experiences,  exalted  moments,  have 
most  to  do  with  our  character  and  capacity  We  are  wrong.  Common 
days,  monotonous  hours,  wearisome  paths,  plain  old  tools,  and  every  day 
clothes,  tell  the  real  story.  Good  habits  are  not  made  on  birthdays,  nor  Christian  char¬ 
acter  at  the  new  year.  The  workshop  of  character  is  every  day  life  The  uneventful 
and  commonplace  hour  is  where  the  battle  is  won  or  lost.”— Maltbie  D.  Babcock. 

You  are  invited  to 

The  Character  Builders*  Bible  Class 

For  Men 

Madison  Heights  Sunday-School 

Corner  Monroe  and  Clay  brook 

Services  Sunday  Mornings  at  9:30 


FIGURE  14 — ADVERTISING  HANGER  FOR  USE  IN  STORES  AND  OTHER 
PLACES  WHERE  MEN  CONGREGATE. 


historical  matter.  For  the  annual  banquet,  the  spe¬ 
cial  edition  contained  the  menu,  program  and  songs. 
At  the  Christmas  and  New  Year  season,  a  special 
edition  containing  matter  appropriate  to  the  time 
and  also  the  report  of  the  annual  election  was  dis¬ 
tributed. 


Advertising  the  Class 


227 


n 


£> 


luiliirrs 


Address  by  D.  M.  Crawford  delivered 
to  Character  Builders’  Class,  Madison 
Heights  M.  E.  Church,  Oct.  31, 1915 


FIGURE  15 — REPRINT  OF  A  SPECIAL  ADDRESS  USED  FOR  ADVER' 
TISING  THE  CLASS — ONE  WAY  FOR  A  CLASS  TO 
GIVE  “SAMPLES.” 


228  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 


s* 


3000000C 


3000C 


My  Silent  Partner 


A  business  man's  story  of  something 
be  has  recently  discovered 
in  the  Bible 


By  the  author  of 
'•Finding  God  in  MUIersvillo" 


Issued  by 

The  Character  Builder  Bible  Class 
for  Men 

Madison  Heights  M.  E.  Sunday-School 

Clay  brook  and  Monroe  Avenue 

Memphis, Tenn. 


»c 


xooc 


ncS 


FIGURE  1 6 — COVER  OF  AN  ADVERTISING  BOOKLET 


Advertising  the  Class  229 


VI :  USING  THE  NEWSPAPERS 

The  daily  or  weekly  newspapers  are  a  source  of 
publicity  that  is  often  overlooked.  In  small  towns, 
the  weekly  paper  is  glad  to  receive  news  of  the  class 
affairs — often  this  news  is  virtually  the  only  real 
news  in  the  paper.  In  cities  where  daily  papers  are 
published,  space  is  also  available  for  news  items. 
The  space  granted  will  not  be  as  large  as  in  the 
smaller  papers,  but  if  the  matter  submitted  has  news 
value,  that  is  if  it  may  interest  the  public,  it  will  be 
printed.  A  number  of  papers  publish,  once  or 
twice  a  week,  a  religious  column  for  this  class  of 
matter.  Such  items  as  elections,  special  programs, 
special  courses  of  study  on  subjects  of  general  in¬ 
terest,  addresses  by  speakers  of  renown,  and  the  like, 
are  always  acceptable. 

The  Reporter  will  cooperate  with  all  the  other 
class  officers  in  giving  full  publicity  to  the  work  of 
the  class.  He  will  assist  the  Vice-President  in  the 
advertising  of  membership  campaigns;  the  Visitor 
in  his  Rally  Day  plans;  the  Entertainer  on  special 
plans,  banquets,  socials,  receptions,  etc.;  the  Teacher 
in  special  teaching  plans,  and  the  President  in  his 
evangelistic  work.  As  long  as  the  matter  is  news 
of  general  interest  the  newspapers  are  glad  to  pub¬ 
lish  it.  The  Reporter  should  not  fail  to  use  this 
privilege.  In  writing  up  matter  for  the  papers, 


230  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


don’t  try  “fine”  writing.  Give  the  facts  as  clearly 
as  possible,  use  a  typewriter  or  write  very  legibly, 
and  write  only  on  one  side  of  the  paper.  Address 
news  items  to  the  Religious  Editor  of  larger  papers, 
or  the  City  Editor  of  smaller  papers. 

News  likely  to  be  of  interest  to  other  classes 


FIGURE  17 — “TICKLER” — FIRST  OF  A  SERIES  OF  DIRECT  MAIL  PIECES. 

should  by  all  means  be  sent  to  the  state  and  other 
denominational  papers;  the  denominational  editors 
are  specially  anxious  to  receive  information  about 
new  plans  successfully  worked  by  a  class,  or  new 
applications  given  to  old  plans.  It  will  often  be 
possible  to  have  the  class  picture  published  in  the 
state  paper  or  the  class  magazines  issued  by  the 
publishing  houses. 


Advertising  the  Class  231 


VII :  GENERAL  ADVERTISING 


Newspapers 

If  the  class  can  afford  it,  it  will  be  a  most  excel¬ 
lent  idea  to  buy  a  little  newspaper  space  for  a  regular 
class  advertisement.  Such  advertising  will  be  of 


We  Want  You 


To  Join  the  NEW 


of  Vinita  Park  Methodist  Sunday  School 

First  Session  Will  be  Held 

Sunday,  Nov.  13, 1921, 9:30  a.m. 


Complete  details  of  the  class  will  be  presented  at  the 
Father  and  Son  Banquet  at  the  Church,  Friday,  Nov. 
llth  (Armistice  Day).  Of  course  you  will  be  there. 


FIGURE  1 8 — SECOND  PIECE  OF  A  MAILING  SERIES. 

little  value  if  placed  in  metropolitan  papers  unless 
the  class  is  centrally  located  and  draws  from  the 
entire  city  for  its  membership  or  is  located  in  the 
hotel  district.  In  smaller  cities  such  advertisements, 
well  displayed  and  pleasingly  written  will  be  pro¬ 
ductive  of  good  results.  Well-handled  advertising 
will  not  in  any  way  detract  from  the  dignity  that 
one  naturally  expects  in  connection  with  a  Bible 
Class. 


232  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


Bulletins 

A  well  designed  class  bulletin  board  is  an  excellent 
advertisement.  If  well  located,  at  railroad  stations, 
electric  car  termini,  near  hotels,  near  parks  where 
young  men  go  to  play  ball,  etc.,  many  men  will  be 
sure  to  see  the  class  message.  If  no  locations  of 
that  sort  are  available,  a  board  can  always  be  located 
on  the  church  property,  provided  it  is  dignified  in 
its  appearance.  Copy  on  the  board  should  be 
changed  at  frequent  intervals.  If  a  painted  board 
is  used,  it  should  be  repainted  at  least  every  six 
months.  Let  the  board  reflect  the  class — people 
will  judge  the  class  by  it — keep  it  neat  at  all  times. 

Direct  Mail 

The  live  class  will  conduct  regular  direct  mail 
campaigns  for  members.  In  such  cases  the  Re¬ 
porter  must  work  closely  with  the  officers  in  charge, 
the  Vice-President  and  Visitor.  A  choice  list  of 
prospects  will  be  built  up  through  the  Vice-Presi¬ 
dent’s  department.  These  men  will  be  mailed  let¬ 
ters,  cards  and  circulars  at  frequent  intervals. 
Study  course  outlines,  printed  on  cards,  make  ef¬ 
fective  mail  pieces,  and  are  also  suitable  for  placing 
in  stores  where  men  can  pick  them  up. 

Posters 

The  Reporter  may  even  place  cards  in  barber 
shops  and  slides  in  picture  shows.  There  is  no 


Advertising  the  Class  233 


WE  WANT 


Sunday",  Nov.  13, 1921, 

is  to  be  an  outstanding  day 
in  the  history  Vinita  Park 
Methodist  Sunday  School 

It  will  register  the  first  session  of  a 
cTHen’s  Bible  Class  in  our  school. 

We  expect  to  enroll  every  man  gf 
Protestant  belief  in  the  community. 


You  know  therefore  we  are  going 
to  get  you  “eventually",  why"  not 
npw?” 


Be  sura  to  attend  the  Father  and  Son  Banquet  at  the  Church.  Friday; 
November  Uth  (Armiatloe  Day),  7  o'clock,  where  full  details  will  be 
announced  Supper  SOc;  everything  else,  including  a  good  time,  free 


FIGURE  IQ — THIRD  PIECE  OF  A  CLASS  CAMPAIGN. 


234  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 

place  where  men  are  that  the  class  should  not  make 
an  effort  to  get  them.  Posters  should  be  placed  in 
prominent  stores  in  the  vicinity — if  the  class  has 
members  of  artistic  talents,  they  can  readily  make 
all  the  posters  the  class  needs. 


WE  WANT  YOU 


When? 

Where? 


Sunday,  November  13, 1921, 9-30  a.m. 
Vinita  Park  Methodist  Sunday  School 


Why? 

Who? 


Opening  Session  of  New  Men’s  Bible  Class. 
You,  and  every  other  man  in  the  community. 


WE  WANT  YOU 


Therefore  You  Will  Not  Stay  Away 


sea 


WE  WANT  YOU  also  to  attend  the  Father  and  Son  Banquet,  Friday,  November  11th  (Armistice  Day), 
**  o'clock,  if  you  haven't  a  so o  of  your  own  adopt  one  for  the  occasion-  Supper  50c.  everything  else  free. 


FIGURE  20 — FINAL  PIECE  OF  A  MAIL  CAMPAIGN. 

Note  that  each  piece  tells  the  story  differently  from  the  others,  but  that 
the  repetition  of  “We  Want  You”  makes  the  effect  cumulative. 


Printed  Matter 

The  Reporter  will  work  closely  with  the  other 
officers  in  planning  circular  matter  that  they  need 
in  their  work.  He  is  the  man  who  has  charge  of 
everything  pertaining  to  the  use  of  printers’  ink. 
He  will  plan  and  have  printed  programs,  menus, 


Advertising  the  Class  235 

tickets  for  entertainments,  literature  for  the  Vice- 
President,  Visitor,  Teacher,  Entertainer  or  other 
officers  needing  special  literature.  Special  forms 
will  usually  be  planned  by  the  particular  officers 
needing  them. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Reporter’s  work  is  of 
equal  importance  to  that  of  any  other  officer.  If 
the  Reporter  is  not  awake  and  permits  opportunity 
for  publicity  to  pass  unused,  the  class  attendance 
will  fall  off,  and  the  class  itself  will  become  just 
another  class  in  one  of  the  Sunday  Schools.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  can  by  judicious  advertising,  in¬ 
crease  the  influence  of  the  class  and  make  it  the 
best  known,  most  talked  of  institution  in  the  com¬ 
munity. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Publicity  Handbook  for  Southern  Baptists — (Free). 
Reisner — “Church  Advertising.” 

Barclay — “Adult  Worker  and  His  Work,”  Chapter 
XIX. 

Blick — “The  Adult  Department,”  Chapter  VII. 

Pierce — “The  Organized  Adult  Bible  Class,”  Appendix. 
Stelzle — “Principles  of  Successful  Church  Advertis- 
mg. 

Scott — “The  Theory  of  Advertising.” 

Ross — “The  Writing  of  News.” 

Elliott — “How  to  Advertise  a  Church.” 

S.  Roland  Hall — “Writing  an  Advertisement.” 

Smith — “Church  and  Sunday  School  Publicity.” 


Appendix  A 


ADDRESSES  YOU  NEED  TO  KNOW 

Abingdon  Press  (M.  E.),  150  Fifth  Ave.,  New 
York  City. 

Association  Press,  347  Madison  Ave.,  New  York. 

Erker  Bros.,  608  Olive  St.,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  (Lan¬ 
tern  slides.) 

Friends’  General  Conference,  150  N.  15th  St., 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

International  Sunday  School  Council  of  Religious 
Education,  1516  Mailers  Building,  Chicago,  Ill. 

Judson  Press  (Northern  Baptist),  1701-03  Chest¬ 
nut  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Keystone  View  Co.,  Meadville,  Pa. 

McKinley  Publishing  Co.,  1619-1621  Ranstead 
St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  (Outline  Maps.) 

National  Motion  Picture  League,  381  Fourth 
Ave.,  New  York,  N.  Y.  (Information  regarding 
films  suitable  for  use  in  Churches.) 

The  Perry  Picture  Company,  Malden,  Mass. 

The  Pilgrim  Press,  14  Beacon  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Religious  Advertising  Association,  Columbia, 
South  Carolina. 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  158  Fifth  Ave., 
New  York  City. 

Charles  Scribner’s  Sons,  597-599  Fifth  Ave., 
New  York  City. 

Sunday  School  Board,  Southern  Baptist  Conven¬ 
tion,  1 61  Eighth  Ave.,  N.,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

University  of  Chicago  Press,  Chicago,  Ill. 

Westminster  Press,  Witherspoon  Bldg.,  Phila¬ 
delphia,  Pa. 


2  37 


Appendix  B 


SUGGESTIVE  CONSTITUTION  AND 

BY-LAWS 

ARTICLE  I.  NAME 

This  class  shall  be  known  as  the.  . . Class 

of  the . Sunday  School  of  the.., . 

Church  at . 

ARTICLE  II.  OBJECT  AND  MOTTO 

The  object  of  this  class  shall  be  Bible  study, 
Evangelism,  Christian  fellowship  and  the  promo¬ 
tion  of  practical  Christian  living  among  men.  The 
class  motto  shall  be:  “ . ” 

ARTICLE  III.  MEMBERSHIP 

Sec.  i.  Any  man  between  the  ages  of  25  and  35 
may  become  a  member  of  this  class  on  presentation 
of  name,  and  election  by  unanimous  vote  of  the 
members  present. 

Sec.  2.  Any  one  desiring  to  encourage  the  work 
of  this  class  may  become  an  honorary  member  on 
presentation  of  name  and  election  by  unanimous 
vote. 

Sec.  3.  No  members  are  to  be  dropped  from  the 
class  roll,  until  a  thorough  investigation  of  causes 
of  absence  has  been  made,  and  a  unanimous  recom¬ 
mendation  to  drop  the  name  be  made  by  the  Execu¬ 
tive  Committee. 


238 


Appendix  B 


239 


ARTICLE  IV.  OFFICERS 

Sec.  i.  The  officers  of  this  class  shall  be  the  fol¬ 
lowing:  Teacher,  President,  Vice-President,  Secre¬ 
tary,  Treasurer,  Visitor,  Librarian,  Entertainer,  and 
Reporter. 

Sec.  2.  These  nine  shall  constitute  an  Executive 
Board.  They  shall  have  general  supervision  of  the 
work  of  the  class  and  shall  have  power  to  fill  all 
vacancies  between  elections.  Any  five  members  of 
this  board  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

ARTICLE  V.  ASSISTANTS 

Sec.  i.  The  Executive  Board  shall  meet  within 
one  week  after  their  election,  and  shall  select  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  class  to  serve  with  the  officers  as  assist¬ 
ants. 

Sec.  2.  In  making  these  selections,  effort  shall 
be  made  to  assign,  as  far  as  practicable,  every  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  class  to  duty  as  assistant  to  one  or  more 
of  the  officers. 

ARTICE  VI.  DUTIES  OF  OFFICERS 

Sec.  i.  The  Teacher  shall  have  charge  of  all 
educational  work  of  the  class,  and  be  advisor  and 
friend  to  every  member.  He  shall  be  consulted  on 
all  matters  of  importance. 

Sec.  2.  The  President  shall  preside  ac  all  meet¬ 
ings  of  the  class,  have  the  direction  of  the  personal 
work,  and  devotional  interests,  and  be  the  general 
class  executive.  He  is  also  chairman  of  the  Execu¬ 
tive  Board. 

Sec.  3.  The  Vice-President  shall  have  charge  of 


240  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


membership  increase.  He  shall  secure  new  mem¬ 
bers  and  introduce  them  to  the  other  members  of 
the  class.  He  shall  also  act  as  President  in  that 
officer’s  absence. 

Sec.  4.  The  Secretary  shall  have  charge  of  the 
class  records.  He  shall  keep  a  roll  of  the  mem¬ 
bers,  preserve  minutes  of  all  meetings,  mark  the 
records,  and  attend  to  all  business  correspondence. 

Sec.  5.  The  Treasurer  shall  have  charge  of  all 
moneys.  He  shall  see  after  the  regular  and  special 
contributions,  and  shall  seek  to  promote  the  grace 
of  liberality. 

Sec.  6.  The  Visitor  shall  have  charge  of  class 
visitation.  He  shall  look  after  absent  members,  and 
shall  also  aid  members  in  securing  employment. 

Sec.  7.  The  Librarian  shall  have  charge  of  the 
class  library.  He  shall  see  to  the  distribution  of 
Bibles,  song  books  and  papers,  shall  seek  to  promote 
the  reading  of  wholesome  literature,  and  preserve 
a  file  of  class  publications  and  other  printed  matter. 

Sec.  8.  The  Entertainer  shall  have  charge  of 
class  recreation.  He  shall  arrange  for  music,  so¬ 
cials,  receptions,  lectures,  athletics,  and  the  like. 

Sec.  9.  The  Reporter  shall  have  charge  of  class 
advertising.  He  shall  see  that  due  announcement 
is  made  of  all  meetings,  and  that  items  of  interest 
are  furnished  to  the  papers.  He  shall  also  have 
charge  of  the  editing  of  any  class  papers  or  the  like. 

ARTICLE  VII.  MEETINGS 

Sec.  1.  This  class  shall  be  a  constituent  part  of 
the  Sunday-school,  subject  to  its  rules  and  regula¬ 
tions,  and  shall  meet  at  the  regular  Sunday-school 
hour,  unless  such  other  arrangement  be  made  as 


■■■ 


Appendix  B  241 

shall  meet  with  the  approval  of  the  Superintendent 
and  Pastor. 

Sec.  2.  Other  meetings  may  be  held  as  arranged 
by  a  vote  of  the  class  or  by  the  Executive  Board. 

Sec.  3.  A  meeting  may  be  called  at  any  time  by 
any  five  members  of  the  Executive  Board,  provided 
notice  be  given  at  a  previous  Sunday  meeting. 

Sec.  4.  A  business  meeting  shall  be  held  as  often 
as  every  three  months. 

ARTICLE  VIII.  ELECTIONS 

Sec.  1.  Officers  shall  be  elected  annually,  in  the 
month  of  September,  and  elections  shall  be  by  ma¬ 
jority  vote. 

Sec.  2.  The  Superintendent  and  Pastor  shall  be 
consulted  in  regard  to  choice  of  the  Teacher,  and 
his  election  shall  be  subject  to  their  approval. 

Sec.  3.  The  new  officers  shall  be  inaugurated  at 
the  regular  business  meeting  following  their  elec¬ 
tion,  and  shall  assume  their  duties  at  that  time. 

Sec.  4.  Any  officer  shall  be  subject  to  removal 
from  office  upon  two-thirds  vote  of  the  members 
present  at  any  regular  Sunday  morning  service  or 
regular  Get-together  meeting,  notice  having  been 
given  at  a  previous  regular  Sunday  morning  service 
or  regular  Get-together  meeting,  and  copy  of  same 
sent  to  officer  in  question. 

ARTICLE  IX.  FINANCES 

Sec.  1.  This  class  shall  contribute  of  its  means 
in  accordance  with  the  financial  plans  of  the  Sun¬ 
day-school. 

Sec.  2.  This  class  may  also  raise  additional  sums 


242  The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


of  money  for  the  prosecution  of  their  work  as  a 
class. 


ARTICLE  X.  AMENDMENTS 

This  Constitution  may  be  amended  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote  of  those  present  at  a  duly  authorized 
business  meeting  of  the  class,  provided  notice  of 
such  amendment  shall  have  been  given  at  such  previ¬ 
ous  meeting. 


BY-LAWS 

(These  By-Laws  are  those  adopted  by  one  par¬ 
ticular  class  of  men,  and  will  hardly  be  suited  to 
other  classes  just  as  they  stand.  They  do,  however, 
indicate  the  scope  of  the  By-Laws.) 

ARTICLE  I.  MEMBERSHIP 

Sec.  I.  Any  young  man,  25  to  35  years  of  age, 
wishing  to  become  a  member  of  this  class,  may  do 
so  after  two  consecutive  Sundays’  attendance,  upon 
presentation  of  his  name  and  election  by  unanimous 
vote  of  those  members  present. 

Sec.  2.  New  members  may  be  voted  in  at  any 
regular  Sunday  morning  service  or  at  any  regular 
class  business  meeting. 

ARTICLE  II.  OFFICERS 

Sec.  1.  Each  officer  shall  make  a  written  report 
at  every  Get-together  meeting  of  the  work  accom¬ 
plished  during  the  previous  month. 


Appendix  B 


243 


ARTICLE  III.  MEETINGS 

Sec.  I.  The  class  shall  have  a  Get-together  meet¬ 
ing  the  third  Tuesday  in  each  month.  These  Get- 
together  meetings  shall  be  for  the  purpose  of  carry¬ 
ing  on  the  business  of  the  class,  for  furnishing 
entertainment,  and  for  promoting  sociability  among 
the  members.  Twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  resident 
membership  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  trans¬ 
action  of  business  at  any  class  meeting. 

Sec.  2.  There  shall  be  a  meeting  of  the  Execu¬ 
tive  Board  at  least  once  a  month. 

Sec.  3.  Each  officer  shall  call  a  meeting  of  his 
assistants  at  least  every  three  months. 

ARTICLE  IV.  ELECTIONS 

Sec.  1.  The  annual  election  of  officers  shall  be 
held  at  the  September  Get-together  meeting. 

Sec.  2.  All  elections  shall  be  by  ballot. 

ARTICLE  V.  FINANCES 

Sec.  1.  Each  member  shall  be  expected  to  con¬ 
tribute,  if  financially  able,  twenty-five  cents  per 
month  as  dues,  for  carrying  on  the  class  work. 

Sec.  2.  The  usual  Sunday-school  offering  shall 
be  taken  each  Sunday,  and  turned  in  to  the  School 
Treasurer. 

ARTICLE  VI.  ORDER  OF  BUSINESS 

Sec.  1.  The  business  of  this  class  shall  be  con¬ 
ducted  according  to  the  following  order : 


244 


The  Mens  Class  in  Action 


1.  Prayer. 

2.  Roll  call. 

3.  Reading  of  minutes. 

4.  Reports  of  officers. 

5.  Unfinished  business. 

6.  New  business. 

7.  Adjournment. 

ARTICLE  VII.  AMENDMENTS 

Sec.  1.  These  By-Laws  may  be  suspended  at  any 
regular  class  meeting  by  a  two-thirds  majority  vote 
of  those  present. 

Sec.  2.  These  By-Laws  may  be  amended  at  any 
regular  class  meeting  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of 
those  present,  notice  having  been  given  at  a  previous 
regular  meeting. 


Appendix  C 


A  SUGGESTED  STANDARD  OF 
EXCELLENCE 

(Some  of  the  Boards  have  denominational 
Standards  of  Excellence.  The  Class  Officers 
should  strive  to  meet  such  standard.) 

I.  Organization 

(a)  The  class  shall  have  the  following  officers 
with  duties  as  specified: 

T  eacher — Instruction. 

President — Executive  and  Religious. 
Vice-President — Membership  Increase. 
Secretary — Records. 

T  reasurer — Finances. 

Visitor — Holding  membership. 

Librarian — Literature. 

Entertainer — Social  Life. 

Reporter — Publicity. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  the  officers  be  known  by 
these  particular  names,  but  the  work  should  be  cov¬ 
ered  as  indicated. 

(b)  The  Class  shall  be  definitely  connected  with 
the  Sunday  School. 

(c)  The  Class  shall  meet  with  the  Senior  or 
Adult  Department  of  the  school,  either  in  the  en¬ 
tire  opening  or  closing  worship  service,  according 
to  the  rule  of  the  school. 

(d)  The  Class  shall  be  enrolled  with  the  denom- 

245 


246  The  Men’s  Class  in  Action 

inational  board,  and  shall  display  the  class  standard 
and  certificate  of  enrollment. 

(e)  Age  limits— 18-25 ;  25-35;  35  and  up. 

(f)  All  offerings  of  the  class  shall  be  made  into 
the  treasury  of  the  main  school  for  general  expenses, 
and  for  benevolences  fostered  by  the  school,  except 
when  the  management  of  the  school  shall  agree  that 
a  certain  per  cent  of  the  offerings  shall  be  kept  in 
the  class  treasury,  which  shall  never  be  more  than 
twenty-five  per  cent  (25%). 

(g)  The  Teacher  shall  hold  a  New  Standard 
Teacher  Training  Diploma,  or  possess  equivalent 
training,  or  should  be  regularly  pursuing  this  course. 
Adult  specialization  units  should  be  included  in  the 
training  work. 

(h)  The  Teacher  shall  be  uniformly  punctual, 
with  average  attendance  at  least  eighty-five  per  cent 
(85%).  If  to  be  absent,  shall  notify  the  depart¬ 
ment  superintendent  in  time  for  a  substitute  to  be 
secured. 

(i)  The  class  shall  have  its  own  room,  isolated 
by  walls  or  solid  partitions,  and  properly  furnished. 

II.  Service 

(a)  Bibles,  and  not  “helps/’  shall  be  used  in  reci¬ 
tation  of  the  lesson. 

(b)  The  attendance  shall  average  at  least  one- 
half  the  enrollment,  in  lieu  of  which,  all  absentees 
must  be  communicated  with  each  week. 

(c)  The  annual  membership  increase  shall  be  not 
less  than  15  per  cent  of  the  active  membership. 
Newly  organized  classes,  week-day  classes,  or  addi¬ 
tions  to  the  Home  Department  of  the  Sunday  School 
through  class  efforts  may  count  toward  this  per¬ 
centage. 


247 


Appendix  C 

(d)  The  class  shall  foster  the  work  of  Teacher 
Training,  study  classes  or  reading  courses  of  the 
denomination,  with  a  view  to  larger  Christian 
service. 

(e)  50  per  cent  of  the  class  membership  at  preach¬ 
ing  services. 

(f)  Definite,  personal  evangelistic  efforts. 

(g)  Class  membership  urged  to  cooperate  with 
the  Church  benevolences  according  to  the  Church 
plan. 

(h)  Some  definite  Christian  work  in  the  com¬ 
munity. 


THE  END 


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